Srinagar shivers at season’s coldest night as temperature plunges to –3.9°C

Srinagar recorded this winter’s coldest night at –3.9°C as a cold wave intensified across Jammu & Kashmir. With dry weather expected till December 10 and temperatures likely to dip further, authorities have advanced school winter vacations while residents switch to traditional Pherans and firepots.

Srinagar: Cold wave tightened its grip over the Valley on Wednesday as Jammu and Kashmir’s Srinagar city witnessed this season’s coldest night so far at minus 3.9 degrees Celsius.

Meteorological Department officials said the weather is likely to remain dry till December 10, and the minimum temperature is expected to drop further during this period.

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“At minus 3.9 degrees Celsius today, Srinagar city recorded the coldest night of this season so far. Gulmarg had zero and Pahalgam minus 4.6 as the minimum temperature today,” Meteorological Department officials said.

Jammu city recorded 8.8 degrees Celsius minimum temperature, Katra 8.5 degrees Celsius, Batote 4.6 degrees Celsius, Banihal minus 0.7 degrees Celsius and Bhaderwah 0.5 degrees Celsius.

As the night temperature dropped below the freezing point, a feeble winter sun rose on the hazy sky in the Valley without affording much warmth to morning walkers and those out of their homes in the early hours of the day.

As cold wind blows into the Valley from snow-clad mountains, school children are facing hardship waiting for buses in the bitter morning cold.

Authorities have now decided that the winter vacation for classes up to the 8th standard will start from December 1. For classes 9 to 12, winter vacation will begin from December 11.

People have started wearing the traditional winter attire of Kashmir called the ‘Pheran’ (a tweed overgarment).

In rural areas and also at many places in cities and towns, people hold an earthen firepot woven in willow wicker filled with live charcoal under the Pheran to ward off the winter cold.

The 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold, ‘Chillai Kalan’, begins on December 21 and ends on January 30 each year.

During this period of extreme winter cold, water bodies in the Valley freeze and people face a tough time.

During winter, people have to burn fire around frozen water taps to get water.

The gap between the maximum and minimum temperatures becomes very narrow during ‘Chillai Kalan’ as the night temperature drops between minus 5 and minus 7 degrees Celsius, while the day temperature rarely touches double digits.