Chilai Kalan, 40-day-long harshest winter period in Kashmir will begin from today
   21-Dec-2018

 
 
Chilai Kalan, the 40-day-long harshest winter period in Kashmir will begin from 21st December and ends on the ending January. During Chilai Kalan the temperature goes down considerably and the chances of frequent and maximum rains and snowfall increases. The people use extra clothing to fight bone-chilling cold wave. Though the meteorological department predicted dry weather for the next one week yet the cold waves are sweeping across the Kashmir valley.
 
Though Chilai Kalan ends at the end of January but it doesn’t mark the end of chill. Chilai Kalan is followed by a 20-day-long ‘Chilai Khurd’ (small cold) and a 10-day-long ‘Chila Bachha’ (baby cold). During this period people use the already stored dried vegetables and the tourists throng the valley to celebrate Christmas and New Year amid snowfall. Meanwhile, a local meteorological department official said there are no chances of rains or snow till December 26.
The official said the minimum temperature in Srinagar dipped to minus 4.8 degrees Celsius as compared to previous night’s minus 2.8 degrees in the past 24 hours. The sub-zero temperature resulted in partial freezing of Dal Lake in Srinagar and some water bodies elsewhere in the Valley.