Snowfall, rain in hills, minimum temp rises in plains

New Delhi: The hill states of northern India witnessed snowfall and light rain on Friday under the influence of a western disturbance, causing the closure of roads and impacting flight operations even as the plains saw a rise in minimum temperatures.

In the national capital, the minimum temperature was recorded at 10.6 degrees Celsius, three notches above the normal, while the maximum is expected to hover around 22 degrees Celsius.

Minimum temperatures in most places of Haryana and Punjab on Friday registered a slight increase giving relief to people from severe cold weather conditions.

Snowfall and rain in various parts of Uttarakhand intensified the cold, adding to the woes of people from land subsidence-hit Joshimath living in temporary relief camps.

Apart from Joshimath, located at a height of around 6,000 feet, many famous locations in the higher altitudes of Chamoli and Rudraprayag districts, officials said.

Of the 47 villages in the Chamoli district affected by snowfall, 19 are in the Ghat sub-division, 13 in Joshimath, eight in Gairsain and seven in the Chamoli sub-division, the District Disaster Management office said.

Snowfall in the high-altitude areas continues and overcast conditions prevail in most of the places in the plains, officials said.

Dismantling of unsafe hotels and houses in Joshimath has been temporarily halted due to bad weather, Chamoli District Magistrate Himanshu Khurana said.

Kashmir too witnessed fresh snowfall on Friday that led to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway and impacted flight operations to and from the Valley.

Snowfall was recorded in the tourist towns of Pahalgam and Gulmarg, as well as in Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama, Budgam, and the upper areas of Kupwara, Ganderbal and Srinagar.

Traffic movement on both sides of the Srinagar-Jammu national highway -- the all-weather road connecting Kashmir with the rest of the country -- was stopped due to snowfall and shooting stones between Ramban and Banihal, officials said.

Moreover, flight operations at the Srinagar airport were affected due to snowfall and low visibility, they added.

Minimum temperatures rose in Kashmir but still settled below the freezing point across the Valley. The meteorological office had forecast wet weather in Jammu and Kashmir from January 19 to 25 due to western disturbances. It said there were chances of light to moderate rain or snow in parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Friday and Saturday.

The weather office predicted a much higher intensity of precipitation from January 23 to 25, with a possibility of moderate snow in the plains of Kashmir, and moderate to heavy snow over the middle and higher reaches and rains in Jammu.

The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh witnessed light to moderate snowfall while intermittent rains occurred across the state under the influence of western disturbances, leading to the closure of 278 roads.

Jalori Jot and Rohtang Pass in Kullu received 60 and 45 cm of snow respectively while the south portal of the Atal Tunnel and Chansel each witnessed 30 cm of snowfall.

National Highway 3 and 305 were blocked at Rohtang Pass and Jalori Pass while the Gramphu to Lossar stretch of NH 505 was also closed. As many as 177 roads were closed for vehicular traffic in Lahaul and Spiti, 64 in Shimla, nine in Kinnaur, five in Chamba, three in Kullu and two each in Kangra and Sirmaur districts.

The local meteorological office has predicted a wet spell in the region till January 26 with light rain and snow at isolated places on January 21 and 22 and light to moderate snow at many places in mid and high hills on January 23.

The wet weather brought cheers to tourists and hoteliers as well as apple growers pinning their hope bumper produce.