Sajid Raina
Srinagar, Jan 10: A cold wave continued across Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh on Friday, with several places recording sub-zero temperatures, while Dal Lake and Wular Lake froze at multiple spots on Saturday.
Pulwama and Shopian recorded the lowest minimum temperatures at -8.0°C and -8.2°C respectively, slightly colder than Friday’s readings of -7.5°C and -7.7°C.
Central Kashmir’s Srinagar district recorded a minimum of -5.7°C, marginally warmer than -6.0°C recorded the previous day, while Qazigund saw a slight drop from -6.2°C to -6.3°C.
Famous tourist destination Pahalgam in South Kashmir recorded -7.8°C, down from -7.6°C on Thursday. Other areas, including Gulmarg (-6.8°C) and Sopore (-7.6°C), also remained in the sub-zero range.
In Jammu, the mercury dipped in several areas compared to Friday. Jammu city recorded 3.6°C, down from 5.6°C, while Katra registered 5.2°C, higher than Thursday’s 3.5°C.
Bhaderwah’s minimum was -2.8°C, slightly warmer than the previous day’s -3.4°C. Samba and Rajouri recorded -1.6°C each, showing a fall compared to Friday.
Ladakh continued to experience severe cold. Drass remained the coldest place at -24.6°C, unchanged from Friday.
Nyoma recorded -20.3°C, a slight rise from -21.6°C, while Padum registered -19.6°C, marginally warmer than Friday’s -20.3°C. Leh remained steady at -14.4°C, while Hanle saw a drop from -16.2°C to -17.0°C.
Kargil and Nubra Valley recorded -13.7°C and -13.5°C respectively, showing slight variations from yesterday.
Meanwhile, Srinagar’s famous Dal Lake was partially frozen, while Wular Lake, India’s largest freshwater lake, froze at several locations, restricting local residents and tourists from accessing the lakes due to icy conditions.
Furthermore, the MeT said that no significant weather activity is expected in Jammu and Kashmir until January 21.
“Light snowfall may occur at isolated higher reaches on January 22 and 23. Minimum temperatures are likely to continue falling until January 10, after which they may rise by 1-2°C,” it said, adding that dense fog is expected at a few places in the Jammu division over the next five days.
