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    HomeNewsTrendsSnow-starved Himalayas finally gets season's first heavy snowfall. Watch

    Snow-starved Himalayas finally gets season's first heavy snowfall. Watch

    Heavy snowfall disrupted daily operations and blocked roads in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

    Moneycontrol News
    February 01, 2024 / 18:31 IST
    A man walks through a field covered in fresh snow on the outskirts of Srinagar. (Image credit: AP)

    A man walks through a field covered in fresh snow on the outskirts of Srinagar. (Image credit: AP)


    Prayers for snow in the northern parts of the Himalayas finally came true as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and other parts of north India received the season's first heavy snowfall, ending a two-month-long dry spell and intensifying the winter chill in the region. This winter, the area had until January 30 experienced minimal to no snowfall, contrary to the usual weather schedule. Experts attributed it to climate change owing to global warming.

    On January 30, however, locals and tourists were delighted with the heavy snowfall even as it disrupted daily operations and blocked roads.


    In Himachal Pradesh, snowfall in tribal areas and other high reaches led to the closure of 134 roads, including four national highways. About 15-cm deep snow has been recorded in the higher reaches of Shimla district since Tuesday night, MeT official Sandeep Sharma told PTI, adding that the day temperatures have dropped by four-five days in one day.

    The local MeT office has issued an orange warning of heavy snow and rains at isolated places in five districts -- Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Kinnaur, and Lahaul, and Spiti on January 31 and February 1.


    In Jammu and Kashmir, many areas in the higher reaches, including along the Zojila axis on the Srinagar-Leh highway, received fresh snowfall, while the plains were lashed by rains. The tourist resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Pahalgam received fresh light to moderate snowfall overnight, officials said.

    The local MeT also issued an avalanche warning for six Jammu and Kashmir districts — Poonch, Baramulla, Bandipora, Kupwara, Doda and Ganderbal.

    The Uttarakhand MeT department on Wednesday sounded a yellow alert for heavy rain, snowfall and thunderstorms at isolated places in the hilly areas of the state for the next 24 hours.

    According to IMD's forecast for February, normal to above-normal rainfall is likely over northeast and central India. Below-normal rainfall is predicted over south peninsular India.

    (With inputs from PTI)

    Moneycontrol News
    first published: Feb 1, 2024 06:31 pm

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