Chillai-Kalan in Kashmir begins on harsh note
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Dec 21: The 40-day long severe part of winter, Chillai-Kalan, today began on a harsh note with minimum temperature plummeting to the season’s lowest in Srinagar at minus 4.2°C.
A Meteorological Department official said that the minimum temperature in Srinagar was 1.1°C below the previous night’s minus 3.1°C.
The mercury was 2.7°C below normal during this time of the year and surpassed this season’s previous lowest of minus 3.6°C that was recorded in Srinagar on Friday last.
Qazigund recorded a low of minus 4.2°C against minus 3.6°C on the previous night. The temperature was 2.6°C below normal for the town.
Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 6.2°C against minus 5.4°C on the previous night. Besides being below normal by 1.8°C, it was also the coldest night this season at Pahalgam.
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Kokernag recorded a low of minus 2.4°C against minus 1.8°C on the previous night and it was 0.7°C below normal for the place.
Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 4.6°C against minus 4.0°C on the previous night. It was 0.2°C above normal for the skiing resort.
In Kupwara town, the mercury settled at minus 4.4°C against minus 3.9°C on the previous night. While being 2.0°C below normal, it was also the coldest temperature recorded so far of the place.
Leh and Kargil recorded a low of minus 11.8°C and 12.1°C respectively. Chillai-Kalan begins on 21st of December and ends on 30th of January. It is the severe part of the winter during which minimum temperatures mostly settle below freezing point.
It is followed by a 20-day-long period called ‘Chillai-Khurd’ that occurs between January 30 and February 19 and a 10-day-long period ‘Chillai-Bacha’ (baby cold) which is from February 20 to March 1.
“The weather is expected to be dry till December 25,” the MeT official said adding: “The weather is mostly likely to be cloudy with chances of light to moderate rain/snow over isolated places of Jammu to scattered places of Kashmir specifically over middle and higher reaches during the last few days of 2022.”
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