Fresh Snowfall Shuts Down Srinagar-Leh Highway

The Srinagar-Leh Highway is closed due to snow accumulation at Baltal in Jammu and Kashmir’s Ganderbal District.
Baltal, situated 75 km from Ganderbal and 93 km from Srinagar, serves as a camping ground for pilgrims and is located 15 kilometers north of Sonmarg.
The Border Roads Organisation, responsible for developing and maintaining road networks in border areas, shared a video of the fresh snowfall.
Additionally, the Pir Panjal range in Poonch district experienced fresh snowfall on Sunday.
Similarly, Gurez Valley in north Kashmir’s Bandipora district also received fresh snowfall on Sunday morning. The Srinagar weather department has forecasted heavy to very heavy snowfall over the higher reaches of the Kashmir division for the next three days, beginning today.
Visuals depicted the upper reaches of Gurez Valley, including Tulail Valley and Dawar village, covered in fresh snow on Sunday morning.
Gurez Valley, located in the high Himalayas, is approximately 86 kilometers from Bandipora and 123 kilometers from Srinagar.
Following the snowfall, authorities reportedly closed the Gurez-Bandipora road for traffic movement.
According to the seven-day forecast from the Meteorological Centre Srinagar, the minimum temperature in Srinagar city will drop to 3 degrees Celsius on Sunday, with the maximum temperature reaching 8 degrees Celsius. Over the next five days starting February 19, the minimum temperature will hover around one degree Celsius, while the maximum temperature will range from 5 to 8 degrees Celsius. Gulmarg, the ski resort in Kashmir, experienced a minimum temperature of minus 3 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
In a post on X dated February 17, the Meteorological Centre Srinagar mentioned, “18-20 Feb: Light to moderate Snow/Rain over plains with heavy to very heavy snow over higher reaches of KMR Division & Pir Panjal Range of JMU Division.”
The India Meteorological Department forecasted heavy rainfall in isolated areas of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, and Himachal Pradesh on February 18 and 20, and over Uttarakhand on February 19 and 20.