Many areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir, including the tourist resorts of Gulmarg and Pahalgam, received fresh snowfall while the plains of the Valley experienced rains.There are reports of snowfall in many areas in the higher reaches of Kashmir including in Peer Ki Gali on Mughal Road in Shopian, Sonamarg, Amarnath Cave Shrine, Razdan Pass, Sadhna Top and Gurez, an official of the Meteorological Department here said.He said fresh snowfall was also recorded in the Gulmarg where 20 cm of snow had accumulated during the night. About 8 cm of fresh snow was recorded in Pahalgam hill resort, the official said.He said many areas on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway like Jawahar Tunnel and Banihal also received snowfall.However, the highway was through for traffic, a spokesman of the Traffic Department said.Meanwhile, the plains of the Valley, including the summer capital Srinagar, received intermittent rains, even as the mercury stayed above the freezing point at most places.Gulmarg resort was the only place in the Valley where the night temperature stayed below the freezing point at minus 4.5 degrees Celsius, the Meteorological Department official said.The resort was the coldest recorded place in Jammu and Kashmir, the official said.The minimum temperature in Srinagar went down over a degree from the previous night’s low of 2.5 degrees Celsius to settle at 1.3 degrees Celsius, he said.Pahalgam hill resort in south Kashmir, which serves as the base camp for the annual Amarnath yatra during summer, recorded a low of 0.3 degree Celsius slightly up from the previous night’s minus 0.3 degree Celsius, the official said.He said the night temperature in Qazigund, the gateway town to Kashmir Valley, settled at a low of 1 degree Celsius compared to the previous night’s 0.2 degree Celsius.The north Kashmir town of Kupwara recorded a minimum of 0.9 degrees Celsius, while Kokernag town, in south, registered a minimum of 1.3 degrees Celsius. Leh in Ladakh region recorded a minimum of minus 4.2 degrees Celsius – an increase from the previous night’s minus of 6 degrees Celsius.
