Srinagar: Kashmir welcomed the New Year amid fresh snowfall at popular tourist resorts and higher reaches of the valley, with the meteorological department forecasting an improvement in weather later in the day, officials said on Thursday.
Tourist resorts including Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg received fresh overnight snowfall that continued till Thursday morning, drawing large numbers of revellers, they said.
Several higher reaches — Tulail Valley in Gurez, Razdan Top in Bandipora, Macchil and Sadhna Top in Kupwara, and Zojila Pass — also received fresh snowfall, officials said.
They said there was a possibility of light rain/snow showers in some areas as the trailing part of a prevalent western disturbance moves away by the evening, leading to gradual improvement in weather.
A brief spell of light rain or snow may, however, occur at isolated places on Friday.
Due to a cloud cover, the night temperatures remained higher than the seasonal average and settled above the freezing point at most places, officials said.
Despite the fresh snow, the valley continues to experience an unusually warm winter, with temperatures hovering 1.2 to 6.3 degrees Celsius above the seasonal average, officials said.
On Wednesday night, Srinagar recorded a minimum temperature of 2.2 degrees Celsius, which was 4.6 degrees Celsius above the normal for this time of year, they said.
Gulmarg remained the coldest location in the region with the mercury settling at minus 5.5 degrees Celsius, 2.5 degrees below the previous night, officials said.
In south Kashmir, Pahalgam recorded a low of minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, 6.3 degrees above the normal temperature, and Qazigund, the gateway town of the valley, saw the mercury settle at 2 degrees Celsius, five degrees above normal.
Mughal Road, SinthanTop Road shut due to heavy snowfall
The Mughal Road and Sinthan Top Road connecting Kashmir with the Jammu region were closed for vehicular traffic following snowfall, officials said.
However, the Jammu–Srinagar national highway remained open for vehicular traffic, with commuters advised to prefer travel on the highway during daytime in view of the inclement weather.
“The Mughal Road and Sinthan Road are closed due to snow accumulation. People are advised not to travel on these roads till they are fully restored,” according to a traffic police advisory.
The twin routes connecting Kashmir Valley’s Shopian and Anantnag districts with the Jammu region’s Poonch and Kishtwar districts were shut following snowfall at Peer Ki Gali and other areas, including the Sinthan Top belt.
The Jammu–Srinagar highway was open for vehicular traffic, but slow movement was observed due to single-lane traffic at Banihal Nallah, Dewal, Nashri–Dalwas and between Marog and Kishtwari Pather, the advisory said.
“Passengers and light motor vehicle operators are advised to prefer travel on the Jammu–Srinagar national highway during daytime. Please avoid night travel as the movement of heavy motor vehicles between the Nashri tunnel and Navyug tunnel may cause inconvenience to commuters,” it said.
The Srinagar–Sonamarg–Gumari road connecting Kashmir with Ladakh’s Kargil district was also closed for vehicular movement due to fresh snow accumulation, officials said. (PTI)
