Jammu and Kashmir's upper reaches receive light snow

Mughal Road connecting south Kashmir’s Shopian with the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri in Jammu division and Srinagar-Sonamarg-Gumri Road connecting Ladakh were closed due to the accumulation of fresh snowfall on Friday as a precautionary measure, traffic police posted on X.

The ski resort of Gulmarg received light snowfall overnight, much to the delight of the people and the tourists staying there, ending a long dry spell in the valley of meadows.

The upper reaches of the Kashmir valley, including Yusmarg, Gurez, Banihal, Sedow, Padpawan, and Herpora areas of Shopian and Karnah in north Kashmir, also received light snowfall.

Dry weather and cold continued in the plains and other parts of Kashmir, with a considerable rise in nighttime temperatures.

The Meteorological Centre Srinagar said light rain and snow were experienced at a few higher reaches during the past 24 hours in Jammu and Kashmir.

It said the weather will remain partly to generally cloudy with light rain or snow at isolated higher reaches till afternoon and improvement thereafter today.

On January 27, the weather will be partly to generally cloudy, with the possibility of light snow at isolated higher reaches towards late evening, while on January 28–29, there is a possibility of light to moderate rain or snow at many places over Jammu and Kashmir.

There is a possibility of light to moderate rain or snow in many places from January 30 to February 3.

There will be a significant improvement in visibility and a rise in maximum temperature in the plains of Jammu Division from today onwards.

The weather office has also issued an advisory that the weather system may lead to the temporary closure of roads in higher reaches and important passes, including Sinthan Pass, Mughal Road, Sadhna and Razdan Pass, Zojila, etc., particularly during January 28–31. Travellers are advised to plan accordingly, the MeT office said.

Night temperatures improved in Kashmir Valley on Friday, and Srinagar recorded a low of -0.5°C against the 3.6°C recorded the previous night. It was 1.8°C above normal for the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir during this period of the season, the MeT office said.

Srinagar recorded a maximum temperature of 11.0°C on the previous day, which was 4.1°C above normal against 6.9°C.

Qazigund on the Srinagar-Jammu national highway recorded a low of 0.2°C against -4.2°C a day ago, while the picnic spot in south Kashmir’s Kokernag settled at -0.1°C against the -1.6°C recorded the previous night.

Pahalgam remained the coldest place and settled at -0.4°C against the -6.3°C recorded a day ago. It was still 7.1°C above normal for the tourist hot spot of south Kashmir.

Gulmarg recorded -3.7°C against -4.5°C a day ago. However, it was 4.5°C above normal for the famous ski resort of north Kashmir.

Kupwara had a low of 2.5°C against the -3.7°C recorded the previous day. It was 5.4°C above normal for the frontier Kashmir district during this period of the season, the MeT office said.

(With UNI inputs)