Srinagar, Nov 27 The mercury continued its free fall in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday as an intense cold wave swept across, with Srinagar city shivering at minus 4.4 degrees Celsius, the coldest this season so far.
The Meteorological Department officials stated that a cold wave continued to tighten its grip over Jammu and Kashmir, with the minimum temperature dropping to minus 4.4 degrees in Srinagar, minus one degree in Gulmarg, and minus 5 degrees in Pahalgam.
Jammu city had 8.7, Katra 8.5, Batote 4, Banihal minus 1.5 and Bhaderwah 0.4 as the minimum temperature on Thursday.
The Meteorological Department officials said the weather is likely to remain dry till December 10, and the minimum temperature is expected to drop further during this period.
As the night temperature dropped several notches below the freezing point in the Valley, a feeble winter sun rose on the hazy sky without affording much warmth to those out of their homes in the early hours of the day.
Due to intense morning cold, school children are facing hardship waiting for buses in the bitter morning cold.
Authorities have now decided that the winter vacation for classes up to the 8th standard will start from December 1, and for classes 9 to 12, from December 11.
People have started wearing the traditional winter attire of Kashmir called the 'Pheran' (a tweed overgarment). In rural areas and also at many places in cities and towns, people hold an earthen firepot woven in willow wicker filled with live charcoal under the Pheran to ward off the winter cold.
The 40-day period of harsh winter cold, 'Chillai Kalan', begins on December 21 and ends on January 30 each year.
During this period of extreme winter cold, water bodies in the Valley freeze and people have to battle with water taps in the morning to de-freeze them.
The gap between the maximum and minimum temperatures becomes very narrow during the Chillai Kalan as the night temperature drops between minus 5 to minus 7 degrees Celsius, while the day temperature rarely gets into the double digits.
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