IMAGES: Srinagar freezes at -7.8 deg C on its coldest day

Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded the coldest night of this winter at minus 7.8 degrees Celsius as mercury across Kashmir Valley plunged by several degrees.

The minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar on Friday night was minus 7.8 deg C, which was the coldest night this winter. The previous low was recorded at minus 5.5 deg C, a meteorological official said.

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Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, was freezing at minus 13.6 deg C, making it the second coldest place in the Valley after Gulmarg, the official said.

He said Gulmarg, the north Kashmir skiing resort thronged by tourists during winter, recorded a low of minus 15.2 deg C.Kokernag resort in south Kashmir also recorded extreme sub-zero temperature with mercury settling at minus 13.0 deg C followed by Pahalgam at minus 12.2 deg C.

The Kargil town in Ladakh region was the coldest place in the Kashmir division with a minimum temperature of minus 17.2 deg C. Kargil had on Friday recorded its coldest night of this winter at minus 19.6 deg C.Leh town, also in Ladakh region, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 13.6 deg C, the official said.

The Kashmir Valley is going through 'chillai kalan', the forty-day period of extremely harsh winter, which began onDecember 21. The extreme chill across the Valley has resulted in immense hardships to the residents with water freezing in supply lines.

The famous Dal Lake and other water bodies have partially frozen. People are facing difficulty in starting their vehicles early in the morning due to the intense cold wave.

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