Srinagar, Dec 16 (IANS): Minimum temperature remained notches below the freezing point in the Kashmir on Monday as the feeble winter sun peeped through a thin haze of clouds in Jammu.

The sky remained cloudy in the Valley as sunlight trickled through a thin cloud cover in the Jammu division.

Cold wave conditions continued in the Valley as the Meteorological (MeT) office forecasted cold, dry weather till December 21 and light snowfall in the higher reaches between December 21 evening to December 22 morning.

Srinagar recorded minus 3.4, Gulmarg minus 4 and Pahalgam minus 5 as the minimum temperature.

Jammu city recorded 5, Katra 6.9, Batote 4.5, Banihal 1 and Bhaderwah 3.9 as the minimum temperature.

The extreme morning chill keeps people indoors in the mornings as they try to rush home early in the evenings due to the icy wind.

The 40-day-long period of harsh winter cold called locally the ‘Chillai Kalan’ starts on December 21 and will end on January 30. It is during this period that the gap between maximum and minimum temperature narrows down adding to the chill factor.

Kashmiris store dried vegetables like Brinjal, tomatoes and pumpkins during autumn to be used in the lean winter months.

As electricity continues to play hide and seek due to financial constraints of the Jammu and Kashmir government to buy sufficient electric power from sellers outside the union territory, time and tradition have taught locals to depend on traditional methods to ward off the extreme winter cold.

A loose tweed overgarment, called the ‘Pheran’ is worn by all locals under which they keep an earthen firepot woven in a willow wicker basket called the ‘Kangri’.

Filled with ember, the Kangri is an ideal heating facility that has withstood the test of time in the landlocked Kashmir Valley.