SRINAGAR : Fresh snowfall occurred in the higher reaches of Kashmir, including in the tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, while the mercury stayed above freezing point at most places even as the Valley today marks the end of ‘Chillai-Kalan’, the 40-day harshest phase of the cold.
Many areas in the plains of the Valley, including summer capital Srinagar, experienced intermittent rain, the MeT department said adding, however, that the forecast for the week ahead is mainly dry weather.
Around one foot of snowfall was recorded in the famous north Kashmir ski resort of Gulmarg since yesterday, a weather official said.
The minimum temperature at the ski resort, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, went slightly up — from the previous night’s minus 6.5 degrees Celsius to minus 6 degrees.
The hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra, received 2 cm of snowfall and the mercury there plunged from 0.3 degrees the previous night to settle at a low of minus 2.3 degrees.
There were reports of fresh snowfall in many other areas in the higher reaches of the Valley even though there was relief from the cold in several areas as the mercury stayed above freezing point. (AGENCIES)