Higher reaches of Uri and Gurez receive snowfall

Snowfall also began in higher reaches of Uri sector in Baramulla district. It started snowing in Nambla and Tikri post areas,close to the Line of Control (LoC) in Uri,early this morning,they said.

The snowfall has ended the dry spell in the Valley.

The first snowfall of this winter took place earlier than usual on October 22.

The skyline of the Valley is covered by a thick cloud cover,raising the hopes of snowfall in the other areas as well,he said.

Advancing western disturbances towards Jammu and Kashmir has caused snowfall in the region.

Aamir Ali said the snowfall is expected to be widespread and intensify over the next two days in the Valley.

“All the Deputy Commissioners of the 10 districts of the Valley have been instructed to activate the snow control rooms today to meet any eventuality,” the official said.

Ali said 75 snow clearance machines have been kept ready across the Valley to ensure that road links are not snapped in case of heavy snowfall.

“We have 27 snow clearance machines in Central Kashmir Srinagar,Budgam and Ganderbal districts while 26 machines are available in north Kashmir and 22 machines in south Kashmir,” he said.

Meanwhile,Kashmir got some respite from the cold wave as the night temperature across the Valley dropped by nearly three degrees.

A MeT office spokesman said the minimum temperature recorded in Srinagar was minus 3.2 degrees Celsius,which was 2.7 degrees higher than yesterday’s low.

Gulmarg and Pahalgam recorded night temperature of minus 5.2 degrees C and minus 3.6 degrees C respectively.

The sub-zero temperatures have resulted in partial freezing of Dal Lake and several other water bodies in the Valley.

The Dal Lake had completely frozen twice in the last 50 years — in 1986 and 1964.

While the mercury had fell as low as minus nine degrees C in 1986,it had dipped to minus 13 degrees C in 1964. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Kashmir has been minus 14.4 degrees Celsius on January 31,1893.

The dip in the night temperature has compounded the problems of the city residents as water taps in most parts were frozen while the reduced discharge in water bodies,has resulted in dip in power generation.

The Ladakh region,which falls in Kashmir division,also witnessed slight improvement in night temperature as Leh recorded minus 13 degrees Celsius and nearby Kargil recording minus 12.2 degrees Celsius.