A fresh spell of snowfall in the higher reaches and rains in the plain areas across Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday ended the 50-day-long dry spell, and brought back smiles to the faces of the locals and the tourists reaching here to enjoy the scenic beauty of the ski resorts of Gulmarg, Sonamarg, and Pahalgam.
In the Jammu region, Banihal top, higher reaches of Doda and Kishtwar, and the tourist resort of Patnitop and Trikuta hills near Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine also witnessed fresh snowfall.
The reports of snowfall were also received from Peer Ki Gali and adjoining areas along Mughal road in Poonch district.
Normal life was disrupted in Jammu city which along with other plains were lashed by rains, resulting in a considerable drop in the day temperature.
The helicopter and ropeway service at the Vaishno Devi shrine remained suspended during the day. However, the pilgrimage to the shrine continued without any disruption.
The battery car service was also functioning normally along the trek.
Due to the snowfall around Zojila area, the highway that connects Kashmir to Ladakh, was closed down for vehicular movement.
However, the Jammu-Srinagar National Highway remained open and the traffic on the arterial road played without any disruption.According to the Met department areas like Gulmarg, Pahalgam, and Sonamarg received a fresh spell of snow while Srinagar witnessed rains, bringing the much-needed respite as multiple water bodies and springs had dried up due to no precipitation in the area.
Earlier, the UT administration had to postpone the Khelo India Winter Games due to insufficient snow in the Ski Resort Gulmarg.
According to experts, the Weather pattern is changing drastically in Jammu and Kashmir.
This year the 40-day-long period of Chillai Kalan was one of the driest periods in many decades.
According to MET department, the Jammu division had recorded an 83 per cent rainfall deficit and Kashmir Valley recorded an 81 percent deficit since the beginning of the New Year.
The local water bodies across the Kashmir division are also drying up prompting Chief Minister Omar Abdullah to comment that the government will have to adopt a more proactive approach for water management and conservation in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the MeT department has predicted a wet spell across the region in the next 24 hours.
The MeT department has also forecasted that there is going to be a wet spell starting February 25th till 28th.
