Intense cold wave conditions persisted in Kashmir on Friday, even as the minimum temperatures increased marginally across the Valley.
According to MeT official, summer capital recorded a low of 6.0°, up from minus 7.0°C on the previous night.
The intense cold wave in Kashmir has resulted in the freezing of water supply lines in several areas. A thick layer of ice has covered several roads, making it difficult for motorists to drive.
Several water-bodies, including the Dal Lake here, have also frozen. Authorities have issued an advisory against walking on ice.
The State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) and river police are conducting patrolling around the frozen water bodies to ensure the safety of people.
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The weather office said a fresh western disturbance is most likely to affect Jammu and Kashmir from January 22 (Today evening) to January 25 forenoon.
“This will bring fairly widespread to widespread light to moderate snowfall/rain to the plains of Jammu, with the main activity on January 24,” the IMD official said.
This system is much weaker than the previous one. So we expect the precipitation to be of lower intensity, he added.
Kashmir is currently in the grip of ‘Chillai-Kalan’ — the 40-day period of harshest winter when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably.
The chances of snowfall are the maximum during this period and most areas, especially in the higher reaches, receive heavy snowfall.
While ‘Chillai-Kalan’ began on December 21 and will end on January 31, the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day ‘Chillai-Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day ‘Chilla-Bachha’ (baby cold).
