Srinagar: Parts of Dal Lake were frozen on Wednesday due to severe prevailing cold weather conditions and night temperature recorded a further drop in Kashmir as well as Ladakh.
Small rivulets, nallahs and streams connecting the interior parts of Dal lake were covered with a thick layer of frozen ice sheets as cold conditions prevailed in Srinagar with temperature plummeting to minus 3.0 degree Celsius on Wednesday which is minus 2.4 degree Celsius below normal during this period of the season for the summer capital.
Shikara men were seen breaking the icy surface of the Dal lake to make way for their boats in the waters in cold weather conditions coupled with fog and haze.
“Srinagar has been facing intense cold weather conditions for the past fortnight. It experienced the coldest night temperature of the season with mercury plunging to minus 3.4 degree Celsius on December 5,” MeT officials said, adding that weekend wet spell was likely to break the cold wave conditions.
Meteorological Department officials said here that a fresh Western Disturbance (WD) was likely to affect J&K and adjoining areas from December 9. “There is possibility of light snow over plains and lower reaches, light to moderate snow over middle and higher reaches during December 9 (evening) to December 10 (evening) particularly over north, north-western, central parts of Kashmir and south Kashmir and light rain at isolated to scattered places of Jammu division,” they said.
They said that another feeble WD most likely during December 12 night to December 13 forenoon with the possibility of light snow over higher reaches of Kupwara, Bandipora, and Ganderbal was expected.
MeT officials said that mercury dropped in Pahalgam from last night’s 3.8°C by nearly 2°C and it was 2.4°C below normal for the famous tourist resort in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district.
They said Qazigund recorded a low of minus 3.6°C against minus 2.2°C on the previous night. The temperature was 2.8°C below normal for the gateway town of Kashmir, they said.
Kokernag, they said, recorded a low of minus 1.9°C against minus 0.8°C on the previous night and it was 1.2°C below normal for the place.
Ski resort of Gulmarg in Baramulla, they said, recorded a low of minus 4.0°C against minus 3.5°C on the previous night, the official said. It was 0.3°C below normal at the skiing resort.
In Kupwara town, MeT officials, the mercury settled at minus 3.1°C against 2.7°C on the previous night. It was 1.3°C below normal for the north Kashmir place.
Jammu recorded a low of 6.9°C against 7.3°C on the previous night. It was 3.1°C below normal for J&K’s winter capital, they said. Banihal recorded a low of minus 0.7°C (below normal by 2.8°C), Batote 2.6°C (1.4°C below normal), Katra 7.6°C (1.0°C below normal) and Bhaderwah 0.9°C (0.4°C below normal).
In Ladakh, Leh recorded minus 11.0°C, Kargil minus 11.6°C, however details regarding mercury in Drass, the world’s second coldest place after Siberia, were not immediately available, the officials said.