No let up in cold wave in Kashmir Valley

Night temperatures remained many notches below freezing point as cold wave conditions continued unabated across the Kashmir Valley on Saturday.

An official of the local meteorological department told IANS that rain and snow would occur at isolated places across Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours till Sunday afternoon.

"The minimum temperature was minus 0.3 degrees Celsius in Srinagar today, while it was minus 14.3 in Pahalgam and minus 11.2 in Gulmarg. The minimum temperature was minus 15.6 degrees in Leh town and minus 9 degrees in Kargil town of Ladakh region," the official said.

"The minimum temperature was six and three degrees below normal (average) in Pahalgam and Gulmarg while it was two degrees above normal (average) in Srinagar," the official added.

Most water bodies, including the Dal Lake in Srinagar and the Wullar Lake in north Kashmir, have partially frozen.

After many years, long icicles were seen hanging from rooftops and children and photographers were enjoying the sight in the Valley.

"A falling icicle is like a falling sword. People need to watch out during daytime against falling icicles when these start melting and fall like missiles from rooftops," an official at the weather office said.