Srinagar, Jan 4: Several high-altitude areas on Sunday were draped in fresh snowfall, while Kashmir remained in the cross-hairs of bone-chilling cold.
Fresh snowfall was reported from Gulmarg, Sonamarg, Doodhpathri, and Tangmarg areas.
Earlier, officials at the India Meteorological Department (IMD)’s Srinagar centre had said Jammu and Kashmir was expected to remain largely dry from January 3 to 5, while January 6 could see cloudy conditions with a possibility of light snowfall over isolated higher reaches of north and central Kashmir.
From January 7 to 15, the weather was forecast to remain partly cloudy.
Residents said the snowfall ran counter to those projections.
“They had largely spoken about dry weather until January 15,” said Muhammad Amir, a resident.
However, an IMD official said that rain and snowfall had been predicted at isolated places for the next 24 hours in the department’s daily weather bulletin issued on Sunday morning.
“We had forecast rain and snowfall in the short-term outlook,” the official said.
Manager at Hotel Grand Mumtaz in Gulmarg, Sharif Ahmad Dar, told Greater Kashmir that snowfall began in the area around 1 pm and continued intermittently through the afternoon.
By 6 pm, the ski destination had received nearly 2 inches of fresh snow.
The hoteliers said that despite the snowfall and bone-chilling temperatures, the tourist destination remained lively, with visitors stepping out to enjoy the fresh snow and winter scenery, while hotels reported steady occupancy and heightened interest from tourists eager for snow-related activities.
Minimum temperatures across Kashmir dipped further on Sunday, with Srinagar recording minus 3.2 degrees Celsius, down from minus 1.5 degrees Celsius a day earlier, reflecting an intensification of the cold wave.
Several parts of Kashmir saw a sharper overnight fall, including Qazigund at minus 4 degrees Celsius compared with minus 2.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday, and Anantnag, which slipped to minus 4.6 degrees Celsius from minus 3 degrees Celsius.
Shopian and Gulmarg remained among the coldest places, recording minus 6 degrees Celsius and minus 6.5 degrees Celsius while Pulwama dropped to minus 5.1 degrees Celsius from minus 3.9 degrees Celsius.
The temperature at Srinagar Airport also declined to minus 4.2 degrees Celsius, compared to minus 2 degrees Celsius the previous night.
Most other districts, including Baramulla, Budgam, and Kupwara, reported lower minimums than on Saturday, underlining the persistence of severe cold across Kashmir.