In Photos: Snowfall in Shimla and Kashmir Valley

Srinagar city — the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir — recorded a low of 1.6 degrees Celsius on Monday night, 10 December, officials said on Tuesday, 11 December.

(Photo: The Quint/Muneeb ul islam)

Tourists at the Ridge after fresh snowfall in Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, on 12 December, 2018. Shimla received season’s first snowfall which has brought cheers on the faces of tourists and local hoteliers. 

A view of the hill city of Shimla draped in fresh snowfall on 12 December, 2018. Snow frozen on the leaves of the trees and on the rooftops of the buildings especially located on the Ridge, Mall Road and Jakhu wore a pleasant look. Shimla has so far received 3.8 cm snowfall, the Meteorological department said.

Higher reaches of Kashmir received fresh snowfall on Monday, 10 December, while some areas in plains received intermittent rains, forcing the closure of several vital road-links including the Srinagar-Leh National Highway.

The overcast conditions led to rise in the minimum temperature in the Kashmir valley. Fresh snowfall has been recorded in Gulmarg – the famous ski-resort in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, a MET department official said, adding that the resort recorded around three inches of snowfall.

There were reports of snowfall in other areas in the higher reaches of the Kashmir valley like Zojila Pass and Minimarg on the Srinagar-Leh Highway, Gurez and Mughal Road, the MeT department official said, adding that some areas in the plains received rains. The snowfall and rains had forced the closure of 434-km Srinagar-Leh National Highway, Mughal Road – an alternate road-link connecting valley with Jammu region of the state and Bandipora-Gurez Road in north Kashmir, an official at the Traffic Control Room said.

The Meteorological Department said the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir are most likely to receive moderate to heavy rain or snow in coming days. Meanwhile, the mercury at most places in Kashmir division increased on Tuesday night, 11 December, owing to a cloud cover.

Minor landslides occurred at a few places, including Hingli-Ramsu and Sherbeebi along Ramban-Banihal stretch on Tuesday night, 11 December, but were cleared by the agencies concerned, officials said, adding that the snow clearance operation was also carried out on both sides of the Jawahar Tunnel, which got over six inches of snowfall. 

The traffic on Jammu-Srinagar National Highway resumed on Tuesday, 11 December, after day-long closure due to inclement weather, while the Mughal road and Srinagar-Leh highway remained closed for the second day owing to heavy snowfall in the high altitude areas of the state, officials said. The Jammu-Srinagar highway, the only all weather road linking Kashmir with the rest of the country, was cleared for traffic Tuesday morning, after being in precautionary suspension since Monday due to bad weather, they said.

Night temperatures dropped across all weather stations in Kashmir but stayed above the freezing point at most places even though the valley witnessed snow and rains, Met officials said.

Over two feet of snow had accumulated on the ground in Peer Ki Gali area along the Mughal road, while heavy snowfall was also reported in Zojila pass along the Srinagar-Leh highway, local authorities told news agency PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)