Respite from bone chilling cold in Kashmir

Srinagar, Feb 6 (IANS) For the third consecutive day on Saturday the night temperature across Kashmir Valley remained above the freezing point in Srinagar while the ski resort of Gulmarg recorded minus 10.4 degrees Celsius.The weather office has forecast dry weather for the next six days although the minimum temperatures are likely to drop by 2 to 3 degrees during this period."There is no likelihood of the night temperatures dropping any further than a few degrees below the freezing point. The days of frozen water taps are over," said an official of the meteorological (MET) department.The hardship borne by the locals because of frozen water pipes in cities and towns has been finding jovial mention in the social media. In one such video clip, a Kashmiri contacts a travel agent for an air ticket to anywhere outside the valley and the return ticket the same day. Bewildered, the travel agent asks for the logic behind such a weird decision and the prospective traveller says, "I want to go out so that I can take a bath and return home."Srinagar recorded 0.6 degrees Celsius and Pahalgam minus 6.3.Leh town of Ladakh had minus 13, Kargil minus 14.8 and Drass minus 24.2 as the night's lowest temperature.Jammu city had 6.2, Katra 6.3, Batote 0.9, Bannihal 3.4 and Bhaderwah minus 1 as the minimum temperature.
--IANS sq/in