Chillai-Kalan, a 40-day harshest winter period, commenced with an intense cold wave conditions as Srinagar has recorded the coldest night of December in the last four decades.
After 1986, Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded the coldest night in the month of December at minus 8.5 degrees Celsius, which is the third lowest December temperature ever recorded in Srinagar in the last 133 years.
As per the details available, Shopian in South Kashmir recorded a low of minus 10.4 degrees Celsius while Anantnag recorded minus 10.5 degrees Celsius.
The minimum temperature at Pulwama settled at minus 10.3 degrees Celsius while in Kulgam it settled at minus 6.8 degrees Celsius.
The extreme cold wave during the Chillai-Kalan leads to freezing of several water bodies, including the Dal Lake.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) forcast a dry weather till December 26, while cold waves is expected to continue over the next few days at isolated places. The higher altitudes of the valley is expected to witness light snowfall on the night of December 21-22. The weather bureau said that snow flurries can possibly also be witnessed from the afternoon of December 27 to the forenoon of December 28. It added that the weather is likely to remain dry on December 29-30 while light snowfall is expected on the New Year's Eve.
Notably, Chillai-Kalan is a Persian word which means “Major Cold”.