Jammu and Kashmir: Rain, heavy snowfall leads to road closures, dip in mercury

The Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been closed to vehicular traffic due to shooting stones in the Ramban district.

Image Credit: File Photo: Representational purpose only

Srinagar: The temperature has dropped as a result of new snowfall in the upper reaches of the Kashmir Valley and rain in the plains. Due to snowfall and shooting stones, all roads connecting Kashmir to the rest of the country have been closed to traffic. Since midnight, the higher areas of Kupwara, Bandipora, and Ganderbal have received heavy snowfall, and it is still snowing in many areas of North Kashmir. In North Kashmir, the Machil area of Kupwara and the Gurez area of Bandipora received around one foot of snow, and it is still snowing in these areas. Famous tourist destinations such as Sonmarg and Gulmarg received fresh snowfall while Srinagar and other plain areas of Kashmir experienced heavy rain.

Due to shooting stones in Ramban district, the Srinagar-Jammu national highway has been closed to vehicular traffic. The Srinagar-Leh highway, which connects Ladakh with Srinagar, and the historic Mughal road, which connects the twin districts of Poonch and Rajouri with Shopian, have been closed for all types of vehicular traffic for today, and clearance operations have begun in these areas to restore traffic as soon as possible.

Temperatures have dropped across the Kashmir Valley as a result of recent snowfall and rains, prompting the administration to close schools in higher areas of Kupwara, Poonch, and Doda for the day. Mukhtar Ahmad, a weather department officer, stated that snow and rain will continue in Kashmir until this evening, after which the weather will improve. He predicted that another wet spell would hit Kashmir on the 18th and 19th of November, later this week.