The Kashmir valley registered a cold night on the eve of ‘Chilai Kalan’, the winter’s harshest phase which lasts for 40 days and begins on winter solstice.
The minimum temperature across the Kashmir valley dropped below freezing point, marking another cold night in the region.
In Srinagar city, the overnight temperature dropped to a low of minus 0.3 degree Celsius, said an official of the state Meteorological Department.
Even though the minimum temperature in the city was slightly below freezing point, it was comparatively warmer than the previous night, when mercury dropped to minus 4.1 degree Celsius.
The Kashmir valley is bracing for the 40-day harshest phase of winter, which traditionally begins on December 21, the year’s shortest day and longest night.
This ‘Chilai Kalan’ phase begins with winter solstice, when the least amount of sunlight is received in the northern hemisphere.
The 40-day-long phase is known as ‘Chilai Kalan’ in local parlance and is feared for its freezing weather and spells of snow.
The remote and sparsely populated Ladakh region is already in the grip of a harsh winter as mercury there is registering a considerable drop below freezing point.
Leh town, the main urban centre in the Ladakh region, recorded an overnight low of minus 10.6 degree Celsius. Kargil town recorded a low of minus 9.0 degree Celsius.
In the Kashmir valley, the minimum temperature in Gulmarg resort of north Kashmir plunged to minus 7.8 degree Celsius.
The minimum temperature in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort was recorded at minus 2.1 degree Celsius.
In Qazigund, the gateway town in south Kashmir, the minimum temperature was recorded at minus 2.8 degree Celsius.
Mercury in the frontier Kupwara town of north Kashmir dropped to a low of minus 1.3 degree Celsius.
Valley freezes on ‘Chilai Kalan’ eve
