Snowfall prompts closure of National Highway in J&K, avalanche warning in Himachal Pradesh

New Delhi: A moderate rise in temperatures today did not translate into any great relief from the cold in northern India where fresh snowfall led to the closure of the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway and prompted authorities to issue an avalanche warning in Himachal Pradesh. Delhi saw the minimum temperature registering a dip from the 6.1 degrees Celsius recorded yesterday to settle at 4.4 degrees, which was three degrees below normal. The maximum in the national capital was normal for this time of the year at 20.7 degrees.Higher up, about three inches of snow had accumulated around Jawahar Tunnel - the gateway to Kashmir Valley - as snowfall led to the suspension of traffic on the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway, the only all-weather road link between Kashmir and the rest of the country.“The highway was closed to traffic at around 2 P.M. after heavy snowfall between Qazigund and Banihal rendered the arterial road unsafe,” a traffic spokesman told PTI, adding that dozens of Jammu-bound passenger and heavy vehicles had been left stranded as a result.The weatherman has predicted moderate to heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir due to a fresh western disturbance between January 8 and January 10.Kashmir Valley today, meanwhile, saw temperatures headed upwards under overcast conditions.Srinagar recorded a minimum of -1.7 degrees Celsius as against -3.3 degrees the previous night while the mercury in Pahalgam jumped by over eight degrees from the -14.7 degrees recorded there the night before to settle at -6.2 degrees. Kargil town saw the mercury rising by over six notches to settle at a low of -12.4 degrees as compared to -19 degrees recorded there yesterday.An avalanche threat loomed large over the high-altitude areas of Himachal Pradesh as the cold wave continued to trouble the state despite a marginal rise in temperatures. The high reaches of Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur, Pangi and Bharmaur, Rohtang Pass and Churdhar and Dhauladhar range have experienced intermittent snowfall since morning. Manali SDM Vinay Dhiman has warned the people living in high-altitude areas against venturing out during daytime given the avalanche threat.Manali and Dalhousie received mild snowfall while Rohtang Pass recorded fresh deposits of 60cm. Biting cold conditions persisted in the region even as the minimum increased by a few notches. Bharmaur recorded a minimum of -12.1 degrees while Keylong and Kalpa in Lahaul and Spiti and Kinnaur, saw the mercury settle at, respectively, -9.7 and -4.0 degrees.In the plains, too, minimum temperatures registered a rise across Punjab and Haryana while cloudy weather prevailed in the Union Territory of Chandigarh, the common capital of the two neighbouring states.The minimum at Adampur in Punjab's Jalandhar district, the coldest place across the two states yesterday at -0.5 degrees, rose to 7 degrees today, four notches above normal. The mercury in Amritsar jumped from 0.8 degrees the night before to 3.5 degrees.Hisar and Narnaul in Haryana, however, continued to reel under the biting cold, recording below normal minimums of 1.1 and 1.2 degrees, respectively.Rajsthan continued to shiver with icy winds blowing across the state where Churu recorded the lowest minimum at 1.7 degrees, which was about 5 degrees below normal. Fog and mist continued to affect normal life in the state even as the mercury rose slightly at many places. About five North Western Railways trains were running late and traffic jams were observed due to the dense fog in the early hours today on the Jaipur-Delhi and the Jaipur-Agra road via Bharatpur.