SRINAGAR/ SHIMLA/CHANDIGARH: Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh woke up to rain and snow on Thursday, while the plains of Haryana and Punjab and their capital Chandigarh received light rain, signalling the onset of winter. The rain in the region is expected to bring down pollution levels in North India, caused predominantly due to paddy stubble burning by farmers.
Two flights were cancelled due to snowfall in Srinagar and others were delayed due to congestion. The tourist spots of Sonamarg and Gulmarg received heavy snowfall, while Srinagar and its adjoining areas were also snowed under on Thursday morning. Power cuts were reported from the valley.
Traffic on the Jammu-Srinagar highway was hit because of the heavy snowfall at the north portal of Jawahar tunnel on the Qazigund side of Kashmir. The Mughal Road in Rajouri was also closed due to snowfall in the Pir Panjal range. Jammu region has been receiving heavy rain since Wednesday night.
In neighbouring Himachal Pradesh, the Leh-Manali highway was closed due to snowfall at Rohtang Pass. Kullu superintendent of police Gaurav Singh said 200 vehicles were stranded though passengers had been brought to safer locations. Vehicles are not being allowed beyond Gulaba, 21 km from Manali.
The meteorogical office has forecast more rain and the snow till Friday.
{{/usCountry}}The meteorogical office has forecast more rain and the snow till Friday.
{{/usCountry}}Kangra was the wettest place in Himachal Pradesh with 11mm of rainfall, while Seobagh in Kullu got 8.2 mm of rainfall. The minimum temperature in Shimla dropped to 5.6 degrees Celsius and Manali recorded a day temperature of 3.6 degrees Celsius.
Rains across Haryana led to improvement in the air quality index in the plains.
The meteorological department observatory in Chandigarh said 7.6 mm of rainfall was recorded between Wednesday midnight and 8.30am on Thursday. The effect of the western disturbance will stay through the day and more spells of light rain are expected.
Cities in Punjab such as Ludhiana and Moga also received rain in the morning.
After the light rain, the air quality index (AQI) of Chandigarh that was as high as 335 on Monday came down to below 100 for the first time since Diwali. A further drop is likely in the region because of the rain and wind.