Fresh snowfall hits Kashmir upper reaches, rain in plains

Upper reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Tuesday while rains lashed the plains, leading to an increase in the minimum temperature, which brought relief to people from intense cold conditions.

“The upper reaches of the Valley received fresh snowfall since Monday night while there is a prediction for more snow and rains in next 24 hours,” a MeT official said, adding that the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg in north Kashmir received around six inches of fresh snowfall during the night.

Reports said the frontier Gurez valley in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district received heavy snowfall, blocking the Bandipora-Gurez road.

Owing to the overnight cloudy sky, the minimum temperature improved by several notches across the Valley and Ladakh region, he said. Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.4 degrees Celsius.

Gulmarg registered a low of minus 2.4 degrees Celsius and was the coldest recorded place in the Valley, the official said. The night temperature at Pahalgam resort, which also serves as one of the base camps for the annual Amarnath yatra in south Kashmir, settled at a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius.

Leh town in the cold desert Ladakh region was the coldest recorded place in the two union territories with a low of minus 4.4 degrees Celsius.

Meanwhile, in the wake of an orange warning issued by the weather office forecasting heavy snow and rain, authorities on Tuesday advised commuters to avoid travel on highways vulnerable to vagaries of weather.

Avalanche warning has also been issued for people living in the higher reaches of Baramulla, Kupwara, Bandipora, Ganderbal and Ramban districts.