Srinagar, Dec 29 (IANS) Due to heavy nightlong cloud cover, night temperatures rose above the freezing point throughout the Kashmir Valley on Monday except the ski resort of Gulmarg, weather officials said.

Met Department officials said the minimum temperature rose above the freezing point in the Valley, except Gulmarg, where it was minus 2 degrees Celsius.

Srinagar city logged a minimum of 3 and Pahalgam 0.2 degrees Celsius.

Jammu city was at 9.1 degrees Celsius, Katra town at 9.2, Batote at 7.3, Banihal at 4.8 and Bhaderwah at 3.3 degrees.

The Met Department has forecast cloudy weather on Monday and Tuesday. On December 31 and January 1, there is a forecast for rain/snow at many places, with the middle and higher reaches likely to receive moderate snowfall in the central and northern parts of the Valley during this period.

Travellers and transporters have been advised to follow the Traffic Department’s and administrative departments’ advisories.

The plains of Kashmir Valley are yet to witness this season’s first snowfall as the people are eagerly waiting for the same.

The 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold called the ‘Chillai Kalan’ started on December 21 and will end on January 30.

All the major snow accumulation traditionally occurs in Kashmir during the Chillai Kalan.

The perennial water reservoirs high in the mountains get replenished by heavy snowfall during these 40 days, and these reservoirs sustain all the rivers, streams, springs and lakes of J&K during the hot summer months.

A snowless Chillai Kalan would spell disaster in the summer months, as both drinking water and irrigation for agriculture would become hard to come by.

It is precisely because of this reason that the first snowfall of winter has become an occasion to celebrate in Kashmir.

People greet each other on the first snowfall, calling it ‘Nau Sheen Mubarak’.

Friends and relatives invite each other to feasts to celebrate the event. One of the most relished local dishes on first snowfall is fish cooked with tomatoes, radish slices, and lotus stems, which are called ‘Nadru’.

This heavily spiced dish is so mouthwatering that people often lick their fingers after savouring its taste.

–IANS

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