Fresh snowfall in upper reaches

Srinagar, Dec 3: While some upper reaches of Kashmir experienced fresh snowfall on Tuesday, few plains received rains, leading to a significant drop in temperatures, officials said.

Areas including Gurez, Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Karnah, and the Zojila Pass received fresh light snowfall.

Key routes including the Bandipora-Gurez road and Srinagar-Leh National Highway were blocked and also received fresh snowfall.

The Meteorological Department (MeT) has forecast dry weather from December 4 to 7.

However, it expects cloudy skies with light rain or snow in the higher reaches on December 8.

Dry conditions are anticipated to return from December 9 to 12.

Meanwhile, a rise in minimum temperatures brought some relief from the cold in several areas, except for Gulmarg.

Srinagar recorded a low of 1.8 degrees Celsius, up from the previous night’s -0.8 degrees Celsius.

Kupwara registered a similar low of 1.8 degrees Celsius while Qazigund, the gateway to Kashmir, recorded 0.5 degrees Celsius.

Pahalgam saw temperatures dip to minus 1.8 degrees Celsius and Kokernag to minus 0.2 degrees Celsius, while Gulmarg remained the coldest spot at minus 2.4 degrees Celsius.

The India Meteorological Department (IMD) confirmed that dry weather prevailed on Tuesday, with only isolated higher reaches experiencing very light rain or snow.

The IMD also said that November ended with a 69 percent rainfall deficit in J&K and Ladakh.

While the average rainfall for the month is 35.3 mm, the region recorded just 10.9 mm of rainfall this year.