Srinagar Jan 25 PTI As Chilla-i-Kalan entered its last week on Tuesday theminimum temperature in most parts of Kashmir stayed several degrees above the normal for this time of the season except in the tourist resort of Gulmarg officials said here Srinagar the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir recorded a low of 18 degrees Celsius down from 28 degrees Celsius the previous night they said Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 92 degrees Celsius up slightly from minus 95 degrees Celsius the previous night Pahalgam which also serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra recorded a low of minus 28 degrees Celsius down from the previous nights minus 08 degrees Celsius they said The officials said Qazigund recorded the minimum of zero degrees Celsius while the nearby south Kashmir town of Kokernag recorded a low of minus 04 degrees Celsius The mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of 04 degrees Celsius The MeT Office said there was fresh light snowfall at isolated places It forecast light rainsnow at isolated places over next 24 hours as well Afterwards the weather is likely to stay mainly dry till the end of the month and there is no forecast of any major rainsnow till the end of January it said Kashmir valley is currently under the grip of the 40-day harshest winter period known as Chilla-i-Kalan which began on December 21 last year Chilla-i-Kalan is a period when a cold wave grips the region and the temperature drops considerably leading to the freezing of water bodies including the famous Dal Lake here as well as the water supply lines in several parts of the valley The chances of snowfall are the most frequent and maximum during this period and most areas especially in the higher reaches receive heavy to very heavy snowfall The Chilla-i-Kalan will end on January 31 but the cold wave continues even after that in Kashmir with a 20-day-long Chillai-Khurd small cold and a 10-day-long Chillai-Bachha baby cold PTI SSB MIJ RCJ RCJ

Srinagar Nov 28 PTI The minimum temperature at most places in Kashmir dropped on Sunday as cold conditions returned across the valley and mercury settled below the freezing point met department officials said The temperature last night dropped across the valley except in the Kokernag town in the south they said They said Srinagar recorded a low of minus 02 degrees Celsius last night -- down from 04 degrees Celsius the previous night they said Pahalgam which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra recorded a low of minus 30 degrees Celsius Gulmarg resort town in north Kashmirs Baramulla district also recorded a minimum temperature of minus 15 degrees Celsius Mercury in Kupwara in north Kashmir settled at a low of minus 14 degrees Celsius Qazigund the gateway town to the valley recorded minus 13 degrees Celsius while Kokernag recorded a low of minus 02 degrees Celsius The Met office has said the weather will most likely remain dry but cold till December 3 The wintry conditions in the valley set in much ahead of the beginning of extreme harsh weather conditions which usually start around the third week of December Chillai Kalan the 40-day period of harsh winter in Kashmir begins on December 21 every year PTI SSB VN VN