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India's Ladakh reels under severe cold wave

     Ladakh: Ladakh is witnessing one of the coldest winters this year with natural springs and lakes freezing. While the day temperatures plummet to -9 degrees Celsius, Ladakhis witnessed bone-chilling night temperatures of -35 degrees Celsius. "The winter this year is more severe than last year. It's very hard. I believe day temperatures must be very low," Ghulam Mehdi, a municipal worker, said. The unprecedented harsh weather has forced people to largely remain indoors.

    "This year, yesterday or day before the temperature went down to -34 degrees Celsius. The water froze in the pipes and in buckets. This kind of cold is being witnessed after many years," said Muzma Wangchuk, caretaker of an ice-skating rink in Ladakh. The cold wave has hit poor people hard in North India who are without proper shelters. People huddled around roadside fires are a common sight. The lack of nutritious food worsens the impact of the cold, lowering body heat and leading to hypothermia. Cold wave has claimed dozens of lives this year.
-Jan 19,  2007

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