With the harsh winter conditions gripping Kashmir, it has been over a week since a thin layer of ice formed over the Dal Lake in Srinagar. According to a PTI report, the minimum temperature on Friday evening had reportedly dropped below the minus 4 degrees Celsius-mark. The frigid temperatures of ‘Chilla-i-Kalan’, a 40-day harsh winter period, often results in the freezing of water bodies and pipes due to the intense cold.
During this period the chances of snowfall are very high, especially in the higher reaches.
Those who live in houseboats on the Dal Lake are having a tough time breaking the layer of ice over the water body to reach its banks. Water in pipes has also frozen in the valley.
On Friday night, Srinagar city registered a minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, a drop from the previous night's minus 3 degrees Celsius, according to officials.
Qazigund noted a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg, the renowned ski resort in north Kashmir, experienced a temperature of 4.5 degrees Celsius on Friday night, slightly lower than the previous night.
Pahalgam, situated in south Kashmir's Anantnag district and a key base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.3 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night's minus 4.5 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Kokernag town saw the temperature settling at minus 2.9 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius
Kashmir has been experiencing an extended dry period, with a significant 79 per cent deficit in December's rainfall.
As per PTI, most of the plain areas in Kashmir haven't witnessed any snowfall, and even the higher reaches have received a lesser-than-normal amount of snowfall. The meteorological department predicts predominantly dry weather until January 12.
The 'Chilla-i-Kalan' will end on January 31. However, the cold conditions will continue after that with a 20-day-long 'Chilla-i-Khurd' (small cold) and a 10-day-long 'Chilla-i-Bachha' (baby cold).