Himachal, Kashmir shiver at sub-zero temperatures

SHIMLA/SRINAGAR: Shimla residents woke up to a fascinating view on Friday with the entire town donning a mantle of snow but the sleet on road disrupted vehicular traffic and office-goers had a hard time commuting.

As many as 720 roads, including four national highways, in Himachal Pradesh are blocked following snow while 2,243 transformers are disrupted. Snowfall and widespread rain caused sharp fall in minimum temperatures and residents in high altitude tribal areas shivered under piercing cold wave conditions with the mercury staying 14-18 degrees Celsius below the freezing point.

Machinery from low areas was shifted to snow-bound areas in a proactive move and the roads were cleared by sprinkling calcium chloride, Public Works Department Minister Vikramaditya Singh told reporters on Friday.

The minimum temperatures nose-dived on Thursday night at several places in Kashmir with some towns recording the coldest night in the past 16 years, officials said on Friday.

While IMD Srinagar officials release data for only six major weather stations in the Valley, a private weather forecaster claimed that Larnoo in Kokernag was the coldest recorded place in Kashmir where the mercury plunged to minus 17.1 degrees Celsius followed by Sonamarg resort on Srinagar-Leh highway which recorded a low of minus 15.1 degrees Celsius.

“Records break as extreme cold waves hit south Kashmir, parts of Jammu region and Sonamarg. Larnoo in Kokernag is coldest at -17.7 C, followed by Sonamarg at -15.1 C,” private weather forecaster Faizan Arif posted on his X handle. He said the temperature in Qazigund was the lowest in the past 16 years.