The fringes of famous Dal Lake and other water bodies in Srinagar were frozen due to fall in the night temperature over the past couple of days owing to clear skies.
The night temperature in Srinagar was two degrees below normal during this part of the season, a spokesman of the MET office said, indicating further fall in the mercury due to dry weather.
"The weather is expected to remain dry during the coming days as well resulting in further drop in the night temperature," he said.
The inhabitants of Dal Lake faced tremendous hardships in reaching the banks due to frozen surface of the water.
Shikarawalas were seen breaking the ice to reach the banks of the lake this morning, while people in many areas complained that the drinking water pipes running into their homes have frozen.
The MET office spokesman said Leh town in frontier region of Ladakh was the coldest place in the state with a low of minus 16.2 degrees Celsius.
Gulmarg in north Kashmir was the coldest recorded place in the Valley with a low of minus 9.4 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
He said the highway town of Qazigund in south Kashmir recorded a low of minus 5.0 degrees Celsius, while the night temperature in north Kashmir Kupwara town settled at minus 3.9 degrees Celsius.
Pahalgam hill resort in south, which also serves as a base camp during annual Amarnath yatra, recorded a low of minus 5.4 degrees Celsius, the spokesman said.
