Kashmir Freezes As Mercury Plunges To -6.4°C In Srinagar, -11°C In Gulmarg

Srinagar, Dec 17: With ‘Chillai-Kalan’ beginning on December 21, Srinagar endured its coldest night of the winter so far with temperatures plummeting to minus 6.4 Degrees Celsius, weatherman said on Thursday.
The mercury also recorded a plunge overnight in other parts of the Valley even as Gulmarg, the world famous skiing resort, recorded a low of minus 11.0 degrees Celsius, same as the previous night.
A meteorological department official said that today’s minimum temperature in Srinagar was almost six degrees below the normal for this time of the year.
However, he said, Gulmarg remained the coldest place in Kashmir Valley even as Pahalgam, the famous tourist destination of the Valley, recorded minus 8.9 degree Celsius against 7.4 on previous night, Qazigund minus 4.9°C, Kupwara minus 5.8°C, Kokernag minus 4.8°C, and Srinagar (IAF) minus 5.7°C.
Due to the harsh weather conditions, people are facing a lot of problems. The water from taps has frozen in many places, causing a lot of inconvenience to the people who mostly start their activity late in the morning. Some portions of the Dal Lake were also frozen due to the cold wave. The scheduled and unscheduled power cuts have made things worse for the inhabitants too.
The weatherman has forecast mainly dry weather over Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for next few days. ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the 40-day period of harshest winter in Kashmir, begins on December 21. While it will end on January 31, the cold wave, however, continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).