Srinagar, Jan 1: Gulmarg and Pahalgam tourist resorts remained busy with visitors as fresh snowfall added to the New Year rush, boosting footfall in the peak winter season.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) said snow began late Wednesday in Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Sonamarg, continuing intermittently into Thursday morning.
Several other high-altitude areas, including Tulail Valley in Gurez, Razdan Top in Bandipora, Macchil and Sadhna Top in Kupwara, and Zojila Pass, reported fresh snowfall, the IMD officials said.
They said Sonamarg recorded 8-10 inches of snow, Gulmarg 3-4 inches, and Chandanwari in Pahalgam around 2-3 inches.
Sadhna Top and Razdan Top recorded around 2 feet of snow each, while Gurez Valley and the Zojila Pass received about one foot.
Peer Ki Gali mountain pass along the heritage Mughal Road received 2 to 4 inches of snow, prompting the authorities to shut the road.
“The road has been temporarily closed as a precautionary measure,” an official from Shopian said.
Following the fresh snowfall, tourists from different parts of the country streamed into the resort towns of Gulmarg and Pahalgam to celebrate the New Year.
“We made the right choice by picking Kashmir over other destinations for our New Year break. We feel like we are on cloud nine,” said a couple from Mumbai, who celebrated the New Year in Gulmarg.
Tourists in Pahalgam echoed similar excitement, as the resort town showed signs of revival nearly eight months after it was jolted by a massive terror attack.
“We are delighted to see the snow-capped mountains, even in the freezing cold,” said Rahul Gupta, a tourist from Delhi.
Srinagar logged a minimum of 2.2 degrees Celsius on Wednesday night, around 4.6 degrees Celsius above the seasonal average, officials said.
Gulmarg was the coldest spot, with temperatures dropping to minus 5.5 degrees Celsius, about 2.5 degrees Celsius lower than the previous night.
In south Kashmir, Pahalgam recorded minus 0.4 degrees Celsius, which is 6.3 degrees Celsius above normal, while Qazigund, the gateway to the Valley, registered 2 degrees Celsius, roughly five degrees above the usual level.
FORECAST
Weather conditions across Jammu and Kashmir are expected to remain largely calm over the next two weeks, forecasters said.
January 1 is likely to be generally cloudy, with light rain or snowfall over higher reaches at scattered locations in the Kashmir and Jammu divisions.
The weather is expected to remain dry from January 2 to 5, while January 6 may see generally cloudy conditions with a chance of light snowfall over isolated higher reaches of north and central Kashmir.
From January 7 to 15, conditions are expected to be partly cloudy, with no major Western Disturbances forecast to impact the region until around January 20, except for a few weak systems.