Cold wave conditions in Kashmir are severe with Srinagar recording minus 5.3 degrees Celsius

Vegetable traders wait on their boats at the floating vegetable market on a chilly morning in the hinterland of Srinagar’s Dal Lake. File | Photo credit: Imran Nisar

Cold wave conditions have intensified in Kashmir as the minimum temperature has dipped several degrees below the freezing point, freezing the banks of several water bodies including Dal Lake here, officials said on Tuesday (Dec 17, 2025).

Srinagar city recorded a minimum temperature of minus 5.3 degrees Celsius, down from minus 3.4 degrees Celsius the previous night, officials said.

Officials also said that due to the cold water lines have frozen in many areas of the city and other parts of the valley. Gulmarg, a popular tourist destination for skiing, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4 degrees Celsius the same as the previous night.

Pahalgam, which also serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6.8 degrees Celsius, down from the previous night’s minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Konibal, a sleepy settlement on the outskirts of Pampore town, was the coldest place in the valley, with the mercury dropping to minus 8.5 degrees Celsius. Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 6 degrees Celsius; North Kashmir’s Kupwara recorded minus 5.6 degrees Celsius and South Kashmir’s Kokarnag recorded minus 5.7 degrees Celsius.

According to the Weather Forecasting Division, it will remain mainly dry till December 26 and there is a possibility of light snowfall in the highlands of the valley during the night of December 21 to 22. However, the minimum temperature of the valley will further decrease and it is predicted that cold wave will come in many stations in the coming days.