Season's first snowfall in Kashmir's plains

The season's first snowfall in Kashmir's plains Thursday brought cheer to the faces of locals as the 40-day long harsh winter period neared its end.

An unusually-long dry spell with abnormally high day temperatures had been worrying farmers and the common man ever since the 40-day long 'Chillai Kalan' started here Dec 21.

Perennial water reservoirs of Jammu and Kashmir are replenished by snowfall during the Chillai Kalan, but this season, there had been very little snowfall even in the mountains of the state so far.

People in Srinagar city and elsewhere in the Valley rose to welcome snowflakes Thursday morning.

"Srinagar city received 0.3 mm snowfall in the morning. Pahalgam recorded six mm while Bannihal recorded four mm snowfall this morning.

"We are expecting another Western Disturbance (WD) Feb 1 which would result in further precipitation in the state," said an official of the Met department here.

The minimum temperature was 0.2 degrees in Srinagar, minus 2.2 in Pahalgam, minus 8.6 in Gulmarg, minus 13.7 in Kargil and minus 12. 2 in Leh Thursday.

The official said the minimum temperatures in the Jammu region were 0.7 degrees in Bannihal, 2 degrees in Batote and Bhaderwah town.

In Jammu, the minimum temperature was 6.9 degrees Celsius.