Srinagar, Dec 22 : The 40-day long period of harsh winter cold, called the 'Chillai Kalan' in local parlance, started on a frozen note for the people in J&K's Srinagar city who faced the coldest night of this season so far on Thursday at minus 5.5 degree Celsius as the minimum temperature. "With minus 5.5 as the minimum temperature today, Srinagar recorded the coldest night of the season so far. Dry cold weather is likely to continue in J&K and Ladakh during the next 24 hours," an official of the Meteorological (MeT) department said. Srinagar had minus 5.5, Pahalgam minus 6.8 and Gulmarg minus 5.2 degrees Celsius as the minimum temperature. In Ladakh region, Kargil had minus 12.8 and Leh had minus 12 as the minimum temperature. Jammu had 7.5, Katra 5.6, Batote 1.1, Banihal minus 1.2 and Bhaderwah 0.9 as the minimum temperature. /IANS