Kashmir witnesses cold wave-like conditions; thin sheet of ice over Dal Lake

Kashmir is currently under the grip of “Chilla-i-Kalan”, a 40-day harsh winter period, when a cold wave sweeps the region and temperatures drop considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies as well as water in pipes.

A thin layer of ice formed on the surface of the Dal Lake and other water bodies in Kashmir as cold wave-like conditions gripped the region, officials said on January 6. The minimum temperature in several parts of the valley dropped below the minus 4 degrees Celsius-mark on the night of January 5.

Kashmir is currently under the grip of "Chilla-i-Kalan", a 40-day harsh winter period, when a cold wave sweeps the region and temperatures drop considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies as well as water in pipes.

The chances of snowfall are the highest during this period and most areas, particularly the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.

Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius on the night of january 5, down from minus 3 degrees Celsius recorded on the previous night, officials said.

They said Qazigund recorded a low of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius, while in the ski resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir it was 4.5 degrees Celsius, a notch down from the minimum temperature recorded the previous night.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district, which serves as one of the base camps 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, they said.

The minimum temperature in Kokernag town settled at minus 2.9 degrees Celsius and in Kupwara at minus 5.4 degrees Celsius.