Dal Lake starts to freeze, cold wave to grow bitter

North India shivered in the bone-chilling cold with Drass in the Kargil district of Ladakh recording the minimum of minus 19.5 degrees Celsius on Monday night and maximum of minus 2.9 on Tuesday.

Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 5 degrees Celsius, three notches below the normal, the weather office said.

The wave tightened its grip on Himachal Pradesh on Christmas, with the mercury plunging to minus 9.4 degrees Celsius in Keylong and popular tourist destination Manali reeling at minus 3.2 degrees Celsius from 5.30 pm on Monday to 8.30 am Tuesday. The minimum temperature in state capital Shimla was 1.7 degrees Celsius during the period.

Similar conditions gripped parts of Punjab and Haryana as the minimum temperatures, which have been hovering below normal limits over the past two weeks, further plummeted on Tuesday.

Amritsar and Adampur reeled as the mercury plunged to identical minimum temperatures of 0.4 degrees Celsius, a Meteorological Department (Met) official said.

It was also the season's coldest night so far in Amritsar, where the minimum dropped three notches below normal limits, he said.

In Haryana, Narnaul was the coldest place with a minimum of 2.5 degrees Celsius, while Hisar witnessed a low of 2.8 degrees Celsius.

Most parts of Uttar Pradesh was in the grip of such conditions and isolated areas witnessed shallow to moderate fog, with Muzaffarnagar experiencing the lowest minimum temperature in the state at 1.6 degrees Celsius.

Dal Lake in Srinagar froze partially as minimum temperature plummeted to minus 5.5 degrees Celsius. Water supply lines also froze in parts of the city due to the drop in the temperature.

Situated 60 kilometer from Kargil, Drass, known as the second coldest inhabited place in the world, recorded minimum temperature of minus 19.5 degrees Celsius. Maximum temperature too was below freezing point at minus 2.9 degrees Celsius on Monday. Leh recorded the minimum of minus 10.6 degrees Celsius while Kargil shivered in minus 14.2 degrees Celsius on Monday night.

Pahalgam in south Kashmir recorded minus 7.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday night while Gulmarg recorded minimum of minus 7.6 degrees Celsius on Monday night.

"This year winter has set in early. It is happening in Himachal also. There was snowfall in Himachal before Kashmir. This year the cold is severe and it is all over the Northern West Himalayas," said Professor Shakil A Ramshoo, head department of Earth Sciences at University of Kashmir.

Chila-e-Kalan, the 40 harshest days of the season, which started on December 21 is making its presence felt in Kashmir, though last year it passed off without any snowfall.

"If we see our 132-year-old Met history, normally Chila-e-Kalan used to be like this. But because of the significant warming, we have almost forgotten Chila-e-Kalan. For the last 30 years, warming trend has significantly increased particularly during Chila-e-Kalan. This is the climate change effect. The signature of climate change is erratic weather. We will have snowfall in one year and less precipitation in another," said Professor Ramshoo.

With temperatures dipping below freezing points, Pherans (Long Woolen Cloak) and Kangris (Kashmiri fire-pots) are in great demand in the valley. "Electricity is playing truant. Kangris are the life saver in bone chilling winter though these are selling at a very high price", said Aisha, a homemaker of Srinagar.

Chilling cold notwithstanding, Kashmir is witnessing a steady stream of tourists to celebrate the New Year. Gulmarg, a Ski destination, is bursting at seams with all hotels sold out for the New Year's celebrations.

Even the partially frozen Dal Lake is presenting a splendid look with tourists trying to make most of it despite the harsh cold. "Edges of Dal Lake has frozen, not the entire water body. I remember in 1960, the lake was fully frozen and the then Prime Minister Bakshi Ghulam Mohommad had driven a jeep over it. This time, the pollution has killed the lake. It has become stagnant," rued Zareef Ahmad Zareef, poet and satirist in Kashmir. 

FEEL THE FREEZE

• Amritsar and Adampur reeled as the mercury plunged to identical min temp of 0.4 degrees Celsius 
   
• It was also the season’s coldest night so far in Amritsar, where the min temp dropped three notches below normal limits
   
• Chandigarh recorded a min temp of 5.5 degrees Celsius

(With PTI inputs)