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Fresh snow covers Kedarnath, Badrinath and other Char Dham shrines; Uttarakhand pilgrims urged to take care
Fresh snowfall covered Kedarnath on Thursday, three days after an earlier fall, as rain and snow hit hills across Uttarakhand, including Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri. Rudraprayag's district magistrate urged pilgrims to take precautions against the cold and follow administration guidelines.
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Fresh snowfall covered Kedarnath Dham in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand on Thursday, 29 October, along with the high-altitude hills around it. The shrine had also received snow about three days earlier, around 26 October. The cold has been sharp, and rain fell in several parts of Rudraprayag district on Thursday morning. District Magistrate Vishal Mishra urged pilgrims to take precautions against the cold and to follow the guidelines of the administration and the police, and said that pilgrims should put their own safety first.
Where it snowed
Heavy snow and rain covered shrines and places in the hills, including Kedarnath, Gangotri, Yamunotri and Badrinath, in white, and temperatures fell sharply. Uttarkashi and Chamoli were hit hardest, according to one report, and a weather alert for Chamoli was reported for 30 October. The season's first snowfall at Yamunotri Dham was on 26 October.
Earlier in the month the cold was already severe. A report from 18 October said that temperatures in Kedarnath had dropped to about minus 6 degrees Celsius, while Badrinath and Gangotri recorded about minus 5 degrees. The reports for Thursday do not give specific temperature readings.
What is causing it
A weak western disturbance has been bringing cloud and rain to the plains and snow to the high mountains of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand this week. The India Meteorological Department said earlier this week that such a system, combined with moisture from the Arabian Sea, produced scattered light rain over Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and fresh snow on the higher peaks, and a further spell of light rain was forecast for Delhi on 29 and 30 October.
| Place | Reported on 29 October |
|---|---|
| Kedarnath (Rudraprayag) | Fresh snow; rain in parts of the district in the morning |
| Badrinath, Gangotri, Yamunotri | Snow and rain, with temperatures falling sharply |
| Uttarkashi and Chamoli | Among the worst-affected districts; weather alert for Chamoli on 30 October |
The shrines are at high altitude, with Kedarnath at about 3,583 metres and Badrinath at about 3,133 metres, and the walk to Kedarnath is a trek of about 16 km from Gaurikund, so snow and rain make the route harder. Each winter the temples are closed and the deities are moved to their winter seats, traditionally Ukhimath for Kedarnath, Joshimath for Badrinath, Mukhba for Gangotri and Kharsali for Yamunotri. The dates of the closures are announced by the temple authorities, and the reports used here do not give them for 2026.
The district administration asked pilgrims who plan to visit to take precautions against the cold and to follow its guidelines. The reports from the area do not give details of any closure of the route or the temple, and they do not give the date on which the shrines will close for the winter. The local administration is the authority on road and shrine conditions, and visitors should check with it before they set out.
Drivers on the hill roads should expect slippery surfaces and reduced visibility in rain and snow, avoid night travel when the weather is bad, and carry food, water and a charged phone. In an emergency, the national number 112 can be dialled. The state's disaster response teams and the police normally clear snow and rock from the main routes, but clearing can take time when the weather continues.
For those who are already in the mountains or about to go, a few precautions apply. Layers of warm clothing, including a windproof outer layer, gloves, a cap and waterproof shoes, matter more than a single heavy item. Weather in the hills can change quickly, so trips should be planned with margin, and travel should be avoided when rain or snow is forecast on the route. Older pilgrims and those with heart or breathing problems should be especially careful at high altitude in the cold. Anyone who feels very cold, confused or unusually sleepy, or who shivers without stopping, should get warm and seek medical help.
Snow at this time of year is normal in the high Himalaya, but it arrives as many pilgrims are completing the season, and the combination of rain and snow raises the risk of landslides and blocked roads on the approach routes. The state's disaster teams and the police normally keep the routes under watch in such conditions.
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