Chilly weather conditions have intensified as the mercury dipped several degrees and settled below normal across Kashmir valley, where majority of the water bodies, including world famous Dal Lake, in the summer capital, Srinagar, froze even as the night temperature settled at minus 6.1 degree.
However, there was slight improvement in the weather conditions as sunshine greeted people in the morning though ice cold winds continued. The weather again turned chilly in the afternoon due to overcast conditions in the valley, where another spell of snow is predicted from Saturday.
A Met department spokesperson told UNI that skies will be generally cloudy with light rain and snow from early Saturday morning in some places in Kashmir valley. “Another spell of snow is predicted from Monday under the influence of a fresh Western Disturbance (WD), which originated from the Arabian sea and is approaching the region though Afghanistan and Pakistan,” he added.
After witnessing a dip of about 6 degree in the night temperature, people woke up to a chilly Friday morning in Srinagar. Even though sun remained around throughout the morning in the city, the intensity of the heat was very less. Against minus 0.5 degree recorded in Srinagar on Thursday, the night temperature was minus 6.1 degree.
Dal Lake and other water bodies in the city were frozen as people woke up in the morning. Boatmen could be seen breaking the ice to make way for their shikaras in Dal Lake while mechanics and auto drivers had burned wood on roadsides to keep themselves warm and evade the chill.
The spokesperson told UNI skies will be generally cloudy to very light rain and snow during the next 24 hours in Srinagar, where the maximum and minimum temperatures will be around 5 degree and minus 1 degree, respectively.
The night temperature in Pahalgam, about 100 km from here in south Kashmir, further dipped about a degree from Thursday and settled at minus 13.4 degree, making it the coldest place in the valley.
However, the mercury at world famous ski resort of Gulmarg, where the slopes are under several feet of snow, remained constant at minus 11 degree though it was still the second coldest place in the valley. “Despite chilly weather conditions, tourists, particularly adventure lovers who have specially come to Gulmarg for skiing and snowboarding, were out on the slopes enjoying themselves,” a hotelier from Gulmarg told UNI.
The mercury at Qazigund, gateway to the valley, Kupwara in north Kashmir and tourist resort of Kokernag dipped and settled at minus 8.2 degree, minus 9.6 degree and minus 6.4 degree, respectively.