NEW DELHI: Higher reaches of Kashmir, including tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, received fresh snowfall as cold wave conditions continued to prevail in several parts of north India with dense fog disrupting rail services.
There was light snowfall in the famous ski-resort of Gulmarg and the hill resort of Pahalgam during the night, an official of the Meteorological Department in Jammu and Kashmir said today.
The minimum temperature dropped in Gulmarg in north Kashmir, the star attraction for tourists visiting the Valley during winter, as it settled at minus 5.4 degrees Celsius from the previous night’s minus 2.6 degrees Celsius.
The hill resort of Pahalgam in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for annual Amarnath Yatra, recorded a low of minus 2.3 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said while the department keeps no record of the snowfall in most of the higher reaches of Kashmir, there were reports of fresh snow in Peer Ki Gali on Mughal Road in Shopian, Sonamarg, Amarnath Cave Shrine and other such places.
The snowfall, along with rains in the plains, which first began during the day yesterday in many areas, broke the long dry spell in Kashmir which had resulted in the night temperature hovering several degrees below the freezing point.
With the intermittent rains in the plains, including Srinagar, there was a major increase in the minimum temperature in most places in the Valley.
The mercury in Srinagar rose over a degree from the previous night’s 1 degree Celsius to settle at a low of 2.2 degrees Celsius, the official said.
He said the minimum temperature in the city stayed above the freezing point for the second consecutive night after remaining below zero degrees Celsius for over a fortnight.
The night temperature in Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir Valley, also went up from minus 2.3 degrees Celsius the previous night to settle above the freezing point at a low of 0.8 degree Celsius, the official said. (AGENCIES)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
