Srinagar: Night temperatures plummeted further across Kashmir valley with mercury settling at minus 8.4°C in Srinagar, the lowest temperature of the season so far and the coldest January night in the past 25 years, officials said on Thursday.Director Meteorological Department Sonam Lotus told agency it was after 25 years that the mercury has settled as low minus 8.4°C in Srinagar. As per data, a minimum temperature of minus 8.3°C was recorded in 1995, Lotus informed.The plunge in the mercury comes a day after the summer capital of J&K recorded a low of minus 7.8°C, which was the lowest in the last eight years. In 1991, Srinagar had recorded low of minus 11.8°C while the lowest ever was endured on 31 January 1893. Due to the unprecedented dip in night temperatures in the valley lately, Dal Lake and other water bodies here have frozen.Besides Srinagar, the minimum temperatures continued far below than the normal in other parts of the valley, settling at minus 11.1°C in Pahalgam against minus 11.3°C on the previous night in the world-famous health resort, data said.Qazigund, the gateway town of J&K, recorded a low of minus 10.0°C against 9.3°C on the previous night. Kokernag recorded a low of minus 10.3°C against minus 9.9°C on the earlier night.Against minus 5.6°C on the previous night in Kupwara, the mercury settled at minus 6.7°C in the north Kashmir district, an official said.Gulmarg, the world-famous skiing resort, recorded a low of minus 7.0°C against minus 10.0°C on the earlier night, the official said. Leh recorded a low of minus 14.0°C, Kargil minus 19.6°C while Drass was coldest at minus 28.3°C. Kashmir is in the middle of Chillai-Kalan, the harshest 40-day winter period which commenced on December 21 and ends on January 31. Chances of snowfall are most frequent and maximum during this period. The cold wave, however, continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chillai-Bachha’ (baby cold).Kashmir valley recently received heavy snowfall earlier this month, disrupting normal life. The Weatherman has forecast “mainly dry weather” in the next 24 hours and “no significant change till January 18”.
