4 months ago
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The tourer edifice of Sonamarg and respective different higher reaches successful Kashmir received caller snowfall connected Friday (January 17, 2026), which is expected to springiness a boost to the tourism assemblage successful the valley, officials said.
Sonamarg successful cardinal Kashmir's Ganderbal territory received caller mean snowfall, which continued till the past reports came in, the officials said.
This led to postulation jams arsenic galore visitors flocked to the edifice to bask the snow. Numerous vehicles were stranded owed to the ongoing snowfall, prompting assistance from constabulary and CRPF personnel, officials added.
Other fashionable areas, specified arsenic the precocious regions of the celebrated skiing edifice of Gulmarg successful northbound Kashmir's Baramulla district, besides received airy snowfall.
Additional locations, including Gurez and Razdan Top successful Bandipora, Sadhna Top successful Kupwara, and the Zojila Axis on the Srinagar-Leh nationalist highway, experienced airy to mean snowfall arsenic well.
The Meteorological Department has forecast snowfall successful the higher reaches of the vale and airy rainfall successful the plains.
The upwind is apt to stay partially to mostly cloudy, with isolated airy snowfall successful higher areas connected Saturday and Sunday. There is besides a anticipation of airy to mean rainfall and snowfall successful immoderate locations connected January 19-20.
This caller snowfall is anticipated to payment the tourism assemblage successful the valley, which took a terrible beating past twelvemonth pursuing the Pahalgam panic onslaught successful April and the busting of a white-collar panic module successful November.
Tourism stakeholders successful Kashmir person expressed anticipation that a bully snowfall volition pull tourists successful ample numbers. "This snowfall augurs good for the sector, and with the forecast of a fewer much bedewed spells successful the coming days, it is expected that Kashmir volition person a bully wintertime tourism season," Rouf Ahmad, a hotelier, said.
Kashmir is presently wrong its harshest wintertime phase, known arsenic 'Chillai-Kalan', which began connected December 21 and is expected to past until January 20. During these 40 days, the likelihood of snowfall is highest.
Despite a fewer spells of snowfall successful the higher reaches, the plains person yet to person important precipitation, starring to a singular shortage successful rainfall during some December and January.
This adust upwind has resulted successful unusually precocious aerial prime scale (AQI) levels successful Srinagar, which adjacent exceeded the unsafe threshold of 500 connected Tuesday evening. On Friday, the AQI speechmaking successful Srinagar was implicit 200.
Meanwhile, the medication has prepared unit and instrumentality to support roads operational successful areas presently experiencing snowfall, officials said, adding that snowfall power rooms person besides been established successful these regions.
