As Kashmir continues to reel under a severe cold wave, summer capital Srinagar recorded minus 8.8 degrees Celsius during the night between Saturday and Sunday, making it the coldest recorded night in the last thirty years.
The freezing temperatures persist even after the 40-day harshest winter period of Chilai Kalan concluded on Saturday, leaving supply lines frozen, leading to shortage of potable water across Kashmir.
As per Meteorological Department data, Srinagar recorded minus 8.4 degrees Celsius on January 14 this year. The summer capital surpassed it with minus 8.8 degrees Celsius recorded during the last night of Chilai Kalan. The coldest night temperature recorded on January 20, 1991 was when mercury had plummeted to as low as minus 11.8 degrees Celsius, MeT data said.
This winter, record-breaking temperature has led to freezing of supply lines and water storages making taps go dry. The freezing temperatures have caused a lot of inconvenience as frozen pipelines are forcing people to use different heating methods on these supply lines to defreeze them. Parts of Dal Lake and other water bodies have also been freezing due to low sub-zero temperatures.
Slippery surfaces due to the freezing temperatures have been causing inconvenience, while formation of huge icicles on tin roofs is reminiscent of harsh winters Kashmir bas seen in the past.
The 40-day Chilai Kalan which ended on Saturday is followed by the 20-day ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) from January 30 to February 19 and a 10-day ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold) from February 20 to March 1
Temperatures plummet:
Director MeT, Sonam Lotus said “a feeble Western Disturbance is likely to cause isolated to scattered precipitation during February 1 and 3 and there would be a respite from the freezing temperatures. “Due to this, we expect a gradual improvement in minimum temperatures from tomorrow,” Lotus said.
Meanwhile, Srinagar on Sunday recorded the season’s coldest day. The summer capital recorded 0.6 degrees, which was several notches below the normal.
On Saturday, Srinagar had recorded 2 degrees Celsius maximum temperature. For most of the weekend, dry and cold weather continued, leading to freezing temperatures being recorded even during the day time in Srinagar and other places. Gulmarg recorded minus 8 degrees Celsius on Saturday night while the ski-resort recorded day temperature at 2.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday. As per MeT data, Pahalgam on Saturday night recorded minus 12 degrees and 3.5 degrees Celsius maximum temperature on Sunday. However, Shopian in south Kashmir was the coldest recorded place in the Valley on Saturday night at minus 15.1 degrees Celsius.