Srinagar records coldest night in last 30 years

SRINAGAR — Srinagar has witnessed the coldest night after 30 years at minus 8.8 degree Celsius.

A meteorological department official said the minimum temperature in Srinagar plummeted to minus 8.8 degree Celsius, resulting in freezing of water bodies including Dal Lake as well as water supply pipes.

“After 30 years, Srinagar recorded the coldest night. Last time such severe cold hit the city in the year 1991 when the mercury dipped to minus 11.8 degrees Celsius while the lowest ever temperature was recorded on January 31, 1893, when the mercury had plummeted to minus 14.4 degrees Celsius,” said the MeT official.

However, MeT department official said that there is going to be a perceptible improvement in the night temperatures in J&K.

“2 degrees Celsius temperature was recorded in Srinagar on Saturday night which is the lowest maximum recorded this season,” MeT official added.

According to MeT department, Kokernag was the coldest place in the Valley where minimum temperature was minus 13.1 degrees. The famous health resort Pahalgam which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath Yatra recorded a low of minus 12.0 degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg, a famous ski-resort, recorded a low of minus 8.0 degrees while the mercury in Qazigund in south Kashmir settled at a low of minus 10.2 degrees Celsius. Kupwara registered minus 4.7 degrees Celsius last night.