A large number of tourists are arriving for New Year celebrations from Jammu-Kashmir to Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh. Heavy snowfall in these states has brought a lot of enthusiasm among tourists but local life has been affected. The Jammu-Kashmir government has deployed men and machinery to restore services after heavy snowfall. With snowfall on the mountains and intermittent drizzle in the plains for two days, the cold is going to increase in the entire North India including Delhi-NCR on the New Year. People in Delhi's night shelters are already protecting themselves from the cold by covering themselves in warm clothes.

New Year will be welcomed with bitter cold

According to the weather department, the entire North India is going to experience freezing cold in the coming days. If the temperature drops in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan, the New Year may be welcomed with severe cold. There is also a possibility of dense fog in Himachal Pradesh and the northern states. Its effect can be seen by looking at this picture from Ayodhya. Along with the increasing cold, fog has engulfed the city.

Alert for heavy snowfall in Kashmir again

After heavy snowfall in many parts of Kashmir two days ago, a large number of tourists have started arriving to celebrate New Year. The Meteorological Department has again issued an alert of heavy snowfall in Kashmir on the occasion of New Year. However, the good thing is that the snow already frozen on the roads has been cleared. Traffic has also been restored on the Srinagar Jammu Highway.  

Two wheeler slipping on ice

Cold wave continues in Himachal Pradesh after two days of rain and snowfall. Temperatures remained below normal in most parts of the state. Tabo in Lahaul Spiti was the coldest, where the night temperature was recorded at -12.3 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, tourists riding two-wheelers on the roads leading to Atal Tunnel and Solang Valley are being sent back. Actually, after snowfall, black ice has frozen on the roads, due to which the police have stopped two-wheelers from moving ahead as two-wheelers are constantly slipping here.

Amidst the severe cold, the work of removing snow from the road has been started as soon as the weather cleared in Sissu of Lahaul Spiti district. Here people are also removing the snow accumulated on the roofs of the houses. More than one foot of snow has accumulated on the roofs of houses in Gondla near Manali-Leh National Highway. When the weather cleared after 4 days, the mountains bloomed like silver and people started removing snow from the roofs.

How is the weather in Uttarakhand?

In Uttarakhand, most of the hill districts are in the grip of severe cold due to continuous snowfall on the mountain peaks and intermittent light rains along with cold winds in the lower areas. A blanket of snow is spread on the high peaks of Auli, Harshil, Hemkund Sahib, Chopta, Dayara, Lokhandi, Suki Top, Munsiyari and Pithoragarh. The Joshimath-Niti highway connecting the China border is also closed beyond Suraithotha, while the Chamoli-Kund national highway connecting Kedarnath and Badrinath is closed between Dhotidhar and Makku Bend.

Kedarnath temple covered in snow

After the snowfall stopped, people in Kargil, Ladakh and Zojila also started cleaning the snow. Snow is being removed from the roads to restore connectivity. Here, people in Uttarakhand are also in a bad condition due to snowfall. A white sheet of snow has been spread in Kedarnath Dham. The temple is covered with snow and there is several feet of snow in the Kedarnath temple complex. The disaster department of Uttarakhand has issued an alert of strong icy winds in Chamoli district.