Srinagar sees coldest day at minus 5.6 degrees

SRINAGAR - Srinagar shivered at a minimum of minus 5.6 degrees Celsius Sunday morning, making it the coldest day of the season. At some places in Kashmir Valley, people had to light small fires to de-freeze taps!

“I wear woollens in addition to the thick tweed ‘pheran’ and wrap a muffler around my neck when I go to the markets. Even then the cold is biting,” said Majid Sheikh, a 61-year-old resident of Old City Srinagar here.

“The minimum temperature was minus 5.6 degrees in Srinagar, the coldest day of the season so far. In Leh town, it was minus 17.2 degrees and in Kargil it was minus 11 degrees,” said M.S. Wani, assistant meteorologist at the weather office here.

“In Pahalgam hill station, it was minus seven and in Gulmarg it was minus 7.5 degrees Celsius,” he added.

Bashir Ahmad War, a resident of north Kashmir’s Ganderbal district, said: All our water taps had frozen in the morning. We had to light a small fire to de-freeze the taps.

You feel hit by something harsh when the morning chill lashes your face, the 58-year-old added.

The weather office did not have any good news in the immediate future for Kashmir residents, who are adding more layers to their warm clothes with each passing day to ward off the vagaries of the severe winter.

The forecast for the next two days says the weather will continue to remain dry and cold.

The minimum temperature might go down further and chances of precipitation are very less during the next few days, the official said.