{"id":8350,"date":"2016-12-27T09:39:16","date_gmt":"2016-12-27T04:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kashmir.today\/?p=8350"},"modified":"2016-12-27T09:39:16","modified_gmt":"2016-12-27T04:09:16","slug":"dal-freezes-kashmir-shivers-minus-5-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/?p=8350","title":{"rendered":"Dal freezes, Kashmir shivers at minus 5.1"},"content":{"rendered":"

No respite from dry, cold weather conditions; Power scenario worsens, winter sports hit<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n

Srinagar:<\/strong> Temperatures plummeted further in Kashmir last night, resulting in freezing of the Dal Lake and other water bodies. Srinagar froze at minus 5.1 degree Celsius during the night while on Monday the maximum temperature was recorded 11.5 degree Celsius, said a Meteorological Department official.<\/em><\/p>\n

He said that light to moderate rainfall in plains and snowfall on higher reaches could occur on December 29 and December 30 at isolated places across the state.<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Leh in Ladakh region experienced the coldest night of the season as the temperature plummeted to minus 13.9 degrees Celsius.<\/em><\/p>\n

An official said that long dry spell is likely to affect level in water bodies, besides affecting horticulture and agriculture production. \u201cRains and snowfall are important during winter months. They control the temperature from going further down and give respite from the intense cold. The long dry spell is a concern,\u201d said an official.<\/em><\/p>\n

He said that chances of snowfall in plains and mountains during Chillai Kalaan are maximum and frequent. \u201cThe snowfall during this period lasts for long and becomes source of water flow in different water bodies during summer. That water flow meets the demands of people for drinking water and irrigation,\u201d he informed.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kashmir is already facing a major power crisis this winter, with Srinagar city worst-hit where unscheduled power cuts have grown severe over the past one month, giving tough time to people especially during mornings and evenings.<\/em><\/div>\n

Reports said villages too are reeling under darkness as they are supplied with only a few hours of power.<\/em><\/p>\n

The prevailing dry weather has however kept the 434-km Srinagar-Leh highway still open for traffic.<\/em><\/p>\n

The highway connecting Srinagar and Ladakh usually remains closed from first week of December every year during winters due to heavy snowfall in the area, however this year the road is still open for traffic due to dry weather.<\/em><\/p>\n

However, in view of the freezing temperature and slippery road conditions, the road is likely to be closed from January 1, 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n

Chief Engineer Beacon, Brig A K Das, told Greater Kashmir that the road can remain open till weather permits. \u201cIt is the administration who has to decide about the road closure,” the Chief Engineer said.<\/em><\/p>\n

Winter Sports Hit:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In absence of adequate snowfall, winter sporting events are also likely to get affected at Ski resort of Gulmarg. To kick start the skiing activities in Gulmarg bowl requires around 1 to 2 feet of snow accumulation.<\/em><\/p>\n

Muhammad Abbas Wani, MLA and President Winter Games Association of J&K, said that winter games could get deferred this season.<\/em><\/p>\n

He informed that there are some games which don\u2019t need snowfall while there are few others whose hosting depends on snowfall.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe hosting of some events is always dependant on snow. We plan events keeping in view the snow conditions. It may get deferred,\u201d Wani told Greater Kashmir.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis season the snowfall is little late. We have number of events in pipeline. The national events in Ice Hockey, Ice-Skating while as Winter Games Association J&K will also conduct four district level events in Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Drass and Patnitop resorts of State,\u201d he added.<\/em><\/p>\n

He said that skiing courses that Department of Youth Service and Sports (DYSS), Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering (IISM) and various other organizations conduct may also get delayed due to late snowfall.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNormally this time of the season IISM skiing coaching courses would have started but due to late snowfall it has not taken off yet. We have lot of events proposed to be started in January. But yes, the hosting of these events depends on snowfall,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n

He said that Tourism department\u2019s annual snow carnival that features events like sledging, night skiing, ice-skating camp, ice-hockey and various other events is likely to be held in second week of January.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe top level foreign skiers who visit Gulmarg for high attitude alpine skiing keep track of snow conditions through internet, friends and other modes of information. They plan their trips according to snow condition and updates,\u201d he said.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No respite from dry, cold weather conditions; Power scenario worsens, winter sports hit Srinagar: Temperatures plummeted further in Kashmir last night, resulting in freezing of the Dal Lake and other water bodies. Srinagar froze at minus 5.1 degree Celsius during the night while on Monday the maximum temperature was recorded 11.5 degree Celsius, said a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8351,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-union-territory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8350"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8350\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmir.watch\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}