How white was my valley: Kashmir plains receive season's first snowfall

Srinagar: Many areas in the plains of Kashmir received the season's first snowfall on Thursday breaking a long dry spell, even as the minimum temperature improved at most places in the valley, officials said.

However, snowfall in the higher reaches, which began in Wednesday, continued at several places. The plains of Shopian, Pulwama, and Baramulla, as well as the upper areas of Anantnag, Budgam, and Bandipora received light snowfall. However, there was no snowfall in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.

The higher reaches of the valley, including the tourist resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Tangmarg, Gurez and the Zojila Pass, saw light to moderate snowfall.

Due to accumulation of snow along the Zojila Pass, the Srinagar-Leh highway was closed for traffic, while the Bandipora-Gurez road and Mughal Road were also shut, officials said.

Authorities have deployed men and machinery to clear the snow and restore road traffic, they added.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast an improvement in weather conditions from Thursday afternoon. Mainly dry conditions expected to prevail until December 20.

Meanwhile, night temperatures rose across the valley, including Srinagar, due to cloud cover.

Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of minus 0.5 degrees Celsius, up from minus 3 degrees Celsius the previous night. Gulmarg recorded a low of minus 5.2 degrees Celsius, while Pahalgam, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath Yatra, saw a minimum of minus 4.6 degrees Celsius.

Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir, recorded a low of 0.2 degrees Celsius, while Kupwara in northern Kashmir registered a minimum of 0.5 degrees Celsius, and Kokernag in southern Kashmir recorded minus 1 degree Celsius.