Fresh snow brings respite from month long biting cold to valleyites

Srinagar: Fresh snowfall lashed on Wednesday rose the night temperatures above the freezing points and people in Valley got a respite from bitting cold after about a month.
Severe cold wave sweeping the Valley for about a month changed for better as the minimum temperatures rose above the freezing point, said an official Meteorological Department (MeT) in Srinagar .
Fresh snowfall occurred everywhere in the Valley except Srinagar city which received light rain with traces of snow.
Higher reaches including Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonamarg, Pir Panchal mountain range and other places received moderate snowfall on Wednesday.
The Srinagar-Jammu Highway was closed due to snowfall and slippery road conditions in Bannihal sector.
Valley’s perennial water reservoirs get replenished by snowfall during the ongoing 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold called the ‘Chillai Kalan’. These water reservoirs sustain Kashmir’s rivers, streams, lakes and springs during the summer months.
The MeT Official said another spell of snowfall is likely in the Valley beginning January 4.
Minimum temperature was 5.2 degrees Celsius in Srinagar while it was 4.9 degrees in Pahalgam and 2.6 degrees in Gulmarg.
Leh recorded minus 12.4 degree Celsius and Kargil minus 17 degree as the minimum temperatures.