A MAJOR portion of Kashmir’s famous Dal Lake and several other water bodies froze on Thursday as the cold wave in the Valley continued with Srinagar recording the coldest night in 30 years, officials said here. Srinagar recorded a low of minus 8.4 degrees Celsius, which was the coldest temperature recorded in the city in 30 years, an official of the MET department said. He said while Srinagar had recorded minus 8.3 degrees Celsius in 1995, the temperature has fallen to minus 11.3 degrees Celsius in 1991.

 

The lowest temperature ever recorded in Srinagar was minus 14.4 degrees Celsius in 1893. The rest of the Valley was also reeling under intense cold. Pahalgam tourist resort, which also serves as a base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, recorded a low of minus 11.1 degrees Celsius – up from the previous night’s minus 11.7 degrees Celsius. The resort was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir.

 

The minimum temperature in Gulmarg tourist resort settled at minus 7 degrees Celsius – up from minus 10 degrees Celsius the night earlier. Qazigund – the gateway town to the valley – recorded a minimum of 10 degrees Celsius compared to minus 1.4 degrees Celsius a day earlier. Kupwara recorded a low of minus 6.7 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag minus 10.3 degrees Celsius.