Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Jan 7: The world famous Dal lake was partially frozen today as Srinagar recorded coldest night of this winter after the mercury dropped to minus 6 degree Celsius.
The night temperatures at majority of the places in Kashmir dipped several degrees and recorded as coldest of the season. Pahalgam recorded minus 8.9 and Gulmarg minus 9.4 degrees Celsius as their minimum temperatures while Leh recorded minus 16.8 and Kargil minus 18.8 degrees Celsius.
Water taps and other water bodies including nallahs and drains were also frozen in the city. Water in the Dal lake, near the banks and interiors was frozen this morning with the drop in the night temperatures.
Shikarawalas were facing difficulty to row the boats in frozen parts of the lake where it was frozen.
The lake was completely frozen in 1965 when a jeep had crossed on the frozen surface from one end to another end. It was again frozen in 1986 when people were playing ice hockey and cricket besides taking photograph on the frozen surface. It was also partly frozen in January 2006.
People in some areas, particularly in the outskirts and lake area complained of water shortage as the tapes had frozen. People were seen trying to defreeze frozen taps by burning wood.
Water bodies, including nallahs besides drains were also frozen. Majority of the people remained indoor because of severe cold outside.
The Western Disturbance (WD), though resulted in moderate to heavy snowfall on the upper heights during the past two days, had no impact in Srinagar, where weather remained dry and chilly. However, the Sun appeared this morning though icy cold winds that continued to sweep, forcing people to remain indoor. But the afternoon was pretty warm.
The minimum temperature in most places in Jammu region recorded a dip with people in the city of temples waking up to 4 degree Celsius – three degrees below normal during this part of the season.
However, the morning chill vanished with bright sun appearing for the third day providing much needed relief to the people from the cold night.
The city has registered the season’s lowest minimum temperature of 2.7 degrees Celsius on January 4.
Against the previous night’s 5.1 degrees Celsius, the night temperature fell in Jammu city and settled at 4 degrees Celsius, a spokesperson of MeT department said.
The snow-bound Bhaderwah in Doda district was the coldest recorded place in Jammu region where the minimum temperature stayed below freezing point.
The town registered an improvement of 0.7 degrees in the minimum temperature which settled at minus 1.1 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
Katra, which serves as the base camp for the pilgrims visiting Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine in Reasi district, recorded a low of 5 degrees Celsius, registering a drop of 0.6 compared to the previous night, the spokesman said.
He said Banihal town along Jammu-Srinagar National Highway marked an improvement in the night temperature which rose to 2.6 degrees Celsius from minus 0.2 degrees Celsius the previous night.
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