Srinagar, Jan 11 (Inditop.com) The Kashmir Valley and the Ladakh region had no respite from extreme cold Monday as the mercury continued to remain below zero degrees Celsius during the night.

“The minimum temperature in Srinagar was minus 4.2 degrees Celsius while it was minus 20 degrees in Leh town (in Ladakh),” an official at the weather office here said.

The weather office has forecast dry weather and the temperatures here are likely to fall further in the next four to five days.

The 40-day period from Dec 21 to Jan 31, called ‘Chilla Kalan’ by the locals, is the coldest winter period in the Valley.

It is also during this period that Kashmir’s perennial water reserves in the mountains get replenished with snow that sustain the water channels during the summer.