Fresh Snowfall Blankets Chamoli as Uttarakhand Himalayas Turn White
Fresh snowfall covered the Satopanth route near Badrinath, signalling the seasonal transition in Uttarakhand’s high Himalayan region.
Fresh snowfall blanketed parts of Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district on September 23, with the Satopanth route near Badrinath receiving snow as weather conditions changed in the high Himalayas.
The Chakratirth area witnessed a spell of heavy snowfall on Wednesday evening, catching a trekking group camping along the Satopanth trail as tents had already been pitched. The landscape quickly turned white as temperatures dropped in the high-altitude region.
The snowfall comes as the post-monsoon transition begins across the higher Himalayan areas. The weather change is not unusual at such elevations, where temperatures can fall enough in September for precipitation to occur as snow.
Hemkund Sahib, located at around 4,572 metres in Chamoli district, had already recorded the season’s first snowfall on September 17. Rain and fog were also reported around the Badrinath and Kedarnath valleys during the period.
However, the September snowfall does not mean that winter has arrived across Uttarakhand. Snow at very high elevations can begin during the transition from the monsoon to the colder season, while lower valleys may continue to experience rain and relatively mild temperatures for several weeks.
For trekkers and visitors heading into the high mountains, the snowfall is also a reminder that weather conditions can change rapidly at higher altitudes.
