Chillai Kalan, the 40-day period of harshest winter, commenced in Kashmir on Saturday with Srinagar experiencing its coldest December night in five decades at minus 8.5 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological department.
Minimum temperatures dropped several notches below the freezing point in other parts of the valley as well. In Srinagar, the temperature came down to minus 8.5 degrees Celsius on Friday night from minus 6.2 degrees Celsius the previous night, the meteorological department said.
It was Srinagar's coldest December night since 1974, when the city recorded a low of minus 10.3 degrees Celsius, and the third coldest since 1891.
Srinagar's lowest-ever minimum temperature in this month was minus 12.8 degrees Celsius on December 13, 1934. The intense cold led to the freezing of several water bodies, including parts of the famous Dal Lake, and water supply lines in many areas of the city and elsewhere in the valley.
South Kashmir's tourist resort Pahalgam, which also serves as one of the base camps for the Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 8.6 degrees Celsius while the famous ski resort of Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 6.2 degrees Celsius.
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