Woollens out, surprise for tourists as snow blankets Kashmir’s upper reaches

Tourists are thrilled by the unexpected snow at Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Sonamarg resorts. “I am lucky,” said Vaishali, a tourist from Nepal, as she enjoyed the snowfall at Kongdoori in Gulmarg. “I could not have imagined I would see snow in October.”

While the rains lashed most parts of the Kashmir valley, a white blanket of snow covered the higher reaches, including tourist resorts like Pahalgam in south Kashmir, Sonamarg on Srinagar-Leh road, Daksum in south Kashmir’s Kokernag, and the higher reaches of Gulmarg, including Kongdoori and Affarwat.

The valley’s high passes that connect different regions have also been closed because of the early snow. Officials said that snow was reported from Sadhna, a mountain pass that connects Kupwara to Tangdhar on the Line of Control (LoC); the Razdan pass that connects Bandipore with Gurez on LoC and Zojilla; as well as a pass that connects the valley with Ladakh. Snow was also reported from Sinthan Pass and Pir Ki Gali, the twin passes that connect the valley with Kishtwar and Poonch in Jammu, respectively.

The snow in the mountains brought an early winter chill in the valley, with night temperatures plummeting by over 10 degrees. According to Srinagar’s Met office, the Gulmarg health resort recorded the first sub-zero temperature this season with a minimum temperature recorded at minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, which is 6.4 degrees below the normal.

The Pahalgam tourist resort recorded the minimum night temperature at 0.6 degrees Celsius, a drop of 4.5 degrees below normal. On Monday, the maximum day temperature at Gulmarg was recorded at 4.4 degrees Celsius, which is 12.1 degrees below normal. The maximum temperature for Pahalgam was recorded at 9.2 degrees Celsius, 13.2 degrees below normal. Officials said that the high-altitude Zojilla pass recorded the first sub-zero temperature of the season at minus 8 degrees Celsius.

The day and night temperatures also saw a sudden drop in the valley’s plains. The maximum temperature in Srinagar on Monday was recorded at 12.5 degrees Celsius, which is 13 degrees below normal. The minimum night temperature in Srinagar was recorded at 9 degrees Celsius, two notches below normal.

The snow and rains have also meant that Srinagar-Jammu, Srinagar-Poonch and Srinagar-Kishtwar highways are closed for vehicular traffic.

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