As Kashmir braces for Chillai Kalan, the harshest 40-day spell of winter, the fast dipping sub-zero temperature has slowed down the pace of daily life here.
Srinagar recorded a minimum of minus 4.2 degree Celsius on Sunday night, a minus-three-degree Celsius departure from the normal. The maximum day temperature too fell to nine degree Celsius. “Most shops open after 10 a.m. in Srinagar to avoid the morning cold wave,” said Reyaz Ahmad, a shopkeeper at Srinagar’s commercial hub Lal Chowk. Government employees too are showing up late for work.
Chillai Kalan usually brings with it several spells of snowfall. According to the meteorological department, the next 24 hours will see a further dip in minimum temperature to minus five degree Celsius, which could freeze water bodies and taps.
“The tourist hot-spots of Pahalgam and Gulmarg are shivering under a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degree Celsius and minus 3.5 degree Celsius respectively,” said the met department.
Leh witnessed the most severe cold wave, as minimum temperatures hovered around minus 17 degree Celsius.
Haji Anayat Ali, Chairman, J&K Legislative Council, and Sham Lal Choudhary, Minister for Public Health Engineering (PHE), Irrigation & Flood Control, directed officials on Monday to make water available in the Ladakh region where most taps have frozen. “All sources of water freeze in Kargil and Zanaskar during the winter. We need more tankers for water supply,” said Mr. Ali.
