Kashmir valley continues to shiver as minimum temperatures plummeted several degrees below the freezing point, resulting in the formation of a layer of ice on water bodies during the night.
Most of the water bodies across the valley, including the world famous Dal Lake, have partially frozen due to the drop in temperature.
The motorists also faced a tough time while driving early in the morning as the roads had become slippery due to formation of the ice layer on the roads.
The summer capital Srinagar, which recorded a low of minus 3.0 degrees Celsius yesterday, shivered at minus 5.3 degrees Celsius at night, bringing it almost at par with the season’s coldest night at minus 5.5 degrees Celsius on January 8, a Met Department spokesman said.
Famous resort town of Gulmarg recorded a minimum temperature of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius as compared to the previous night’s minus 11.8 degrees Celsius.
Another popular tourist destination, Pahalgam, which serves as a base camp during annual Amarnath yatra, remained at par with the previous night’s minus 13.2 degrees Celsius.
Kargil’s temperature dropped almost six notches to a low of minus 19.0 degrees Celsius, against the previous night’s low of minus 13.2 degrees Celsius, making it the coldest recorded place in the state.
The spokesman said the highway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir registered a drop of almost four notches to record a low of minus 10.3 degree Celsius as against the yesterday’s minus 6.4 degree Celsius.
The night temperature in Kokernag dropped two notches to settle at a low of minus 8.7 degree Celsius, he said. The previous night’s low was minus 6.7 degree Celsius.
He added that in north Kashmir’s Kupwara town, where the previous night’s minimum was minus 4.3 degree Celsius, the minimum settled at minus 4.8 degree Celsius during the night.
However, Leh town, situated in the cold desert of Ladakh showed a slight increase in temperature with a low of minus 17.8 degrees Celsius. The minimum yesterday was minus 20.0 degrees Celsius.
The Met Office predicted a possibility of light rain or snowfall tomorrow and the day after, especially in the higher reaches, which may result in the increase in the night temperatures.