Avalanche warning issued for four districts in Kashmir

Authorities in Kashmir issued an avalanche warning in four districts of the valley on Monday as the higher reaches of the union territory received moderate to heavy snowfall, while the plains were lashed by rains.

The avalanche warning has been issued in Kupwara, Bandipora and Baramulla districts of north Kashmir, and Ganderbal district in central Kashmir, officials said.

While a medium danger avalanche warning has been issued for the higher reaches of Kupwara and Bandipora districts, a low danger avalanche warning has been issued for the higher reaches of Ganderbal and Baramulla districts, they said.

The warning was issued in view of snowfall which started on Saturday and continued till Monday morning, they added.

According to the officials, this is the season's first major snowfall in the famous ski resort of Gulmarg in Baramulla and the tourist resort of Sonamarg in Ganderbal.

Gulmarg received 19 cm of snow in the last 24 hours, while Pahalgam in south Kashmir's Anantnag district received light snowfall, the officials said.

Gurez in north Kashmir's Bandipora district, Zojilla Pass on the Srinagar-Leh highway, and Drass in Ladakh also received snowfall, they said.

Due to the snowfall, the authorities closed the Srinagar-Leh road, which connects Jammu and Kashmir with Ladakh, for traffic on Saturday, they added.

The officials said most of the areas in the plains of the Kashmir valley received rains, bringing down the temperature.

The meteorological department said while the weather improved significantly in both the UTs on Monday, light rain or snow at scattered places is likely during the next 24 hours.