Srinagar, Dec. 22 -- While the snowfall in the upper reaches and rains in the plains pushed up the minimum temperature in Kashmir on Sunday, with Srinagar recording its warmest night this winter, Kashmiris are optimistic that the weather pattern would attract tourists, ending the post-Pahalgam massacre slump.

From last night, Kashmir's plains received rains while the upper reaches experienced snowfall, improving the mercury. At 4 degrees Celsius, the minimum temperature in Srinagar on Sunday was six notches above normal, even as the higher reaches of Kashmir witnessed snowfall and the plains rain as 'Chillai-Kalan', the 40-day harshest winter period, brought much-needed respite for the people of the Valley after a prolonged dry spell, an...