Srinagar: “Chilla-i-Kalan” commenced on Friday while temperatures across Kashmir valley including Ladakh region plummeted below freezing point.
Chilla-i-Kalan is the 40-day period of harsh winter, begins from December 21 to January 31 next year.
Srinagar, Kashmir’s summer capital, recorded a minimum temperature of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius , MET office said.
Leh in Ladakh region recorded a minimum temperature of minus 12.7 degrees Celsius.
The hill resort of Pahalgam in southern Kashmir chilled at minus 7.5.
Chilla-i-Kalan is the 40-day period of harsh winter. It is followed by a 20-day long Chilla-i-Khurd between January 31 to February 19 and a 10-day long Chilla-i-Bachha from February 20 to March 2.