Coldest night in Srinagar, Pahalgam shiver with minus 14.8

Srinagar, Feb 10 (UNI) People in the Kashmir Valley experienced the coldest night last night after the temperature dipped significantly while base camp of Amarnath cave, Pahalgam, and Drass shivered at minus 14 degree this morning.

After experiencing heaviest snowfall in 20 years, the people suffered coldest nights in February so far after the minimum temperature dipped to minus 6.3 degree Celsius, freezing parts of the Dal Lake partially near banks, water taps and nullahs.

The roof tops were snow-laden when the people woke up this morning because of 4.3 degree below normal temperature. However, it start melting at 1100 hrs. Taps were also frozen, affecting water supply in most of the areas. At some places, people burnt cardboard, wood and paper to melt the snow in the taps.

Earlier, the lake was frozen in 1965 and 1986 when people, including children, played cricket on the frozen surface. It is being said in 1965, a jeep even crossed the frozen lake from one end to another.

About half a dozen people were injured after they slipped on the frozen snow in some areas where no snow clearance operation was conducted in inner and link roads.

A weather office spokesman said Pahalgam, base camp of Amarnath cave and most attractive tourist destination in south Kashmir, was coldest in the state where temperature fell to minus 14.8 degree this morning.

Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway also recorded minus 11.2 degree, more than 9 degree below normal.

However, temperature at Kupwara, which was coldest last week, was recorded at minus 6.5 degree.

There was no improvement in the Ladakh region which has been facing severe cold for the past two months.

A UNI report from Kargil said Drass, the second coldest place in the world after Siberia, said the minimum temperature fell to minus 14 degree while maximum was also minus 2 degree.

Similarly, minus 12.5 degree was recorded at Kargil where the maximum was also minus 1.5 degree.

UNI BAS YSS GL RS1547