Overview
- State emergency data on Sunday put Himachal road closures at 835, including three national highways, after heavy snow choked key stretches near Manali with jams stretching roughly 8–15 km and trapping travellers for 24 hours or more.
- Power and water services were widely hit, with officials reporting thousands of transformers and numerous water schemes down, as districts worked to restore supply in sub-zero conditions.
- Rescue operations spanned the region, with more than 1,600 tourists moved between Tangmarg and Gulmarg in Kashmir, nearly 200 people assisted on Uttarakhand’s Yamunotri highway, and 12 tourists rescued near Raghupur Fort in Himachal.
- Authorities restricted access to high-altitude routes, allowing only 4x4 vehicles with snow chains in places such as Kufri, suspending travel beyond Dhalli near Shimla, and advising people to avoid non‑essential journeys.
- The IMD flagged renewed snowfall from January 26–28 with yellow and orange alerts for multiple districts, while in Pakistan’s Murree a fresh spell led to a partial expressway closure and deployments by police and rescue teams.