Kashmir in winter: snow, cold, roads and what stays open

Winter weather

Average day high / night low in °C. WMO Climate Normals 1991–2020 for the IMD stations at Srinagar (42027), Pahalgam (42028) and Gulmarg (42026), published by NOAA NCEI.

February is the wettest winter month at all three stations: Srinagar averages 85.0 mm of rain and snow in February against 27.2 mm in December, and Gulmarg 207.5 mm against 74.1 mm. Every month is in Kashmir weather month by month.

When does it snow?

The averages count rain and snow together, so they can’t promise snow on your dates. The last two winters show how much it moves:

1. 20 Dec 2024
   Srinagar fell to −8.5°C, its “coldest December night since 1974”, and parts of Dal Lake froze, PTI reported.
2. 27 Dec 2024
   Srinagar had its first snowfall of the season, ETV Bharat reported. The next day all scheduled flights were cancelled, according to The Week.
3. Late Aug 2025
   Nearly a foot of snow covered Sonamarg and the Zoji La, and early snow was also recorded on Gulmarg’s Affarwat peaks, “unusual for late August”, a MeT official told Deccan Herald.
4. 2–3 Oct 2025
   Light snow fell again on Gulmarg’s Affarwat and Sunshine peaks, Kashmir Life reported.
5. 21–22 Dec 2025
   Chillai Kalan began with snow on the higher reaches and rain in the plains, Outlook reported. Gulmarg had about 6 inches by 23 December, News24 reported.
6. 9 Jan 2026
   “The plains of the Valley are yet to witness this season’s first snowfall”, IANS reported in Greater Kashmir.
7. 14 Jan 2026
   Parts of Dal Lake froze after a night of −5.2°C in Srinagar, Kashmir Reader reported.
8. 23 Jan 2026
   Srinagar, Banihal and Qazigund had the season’s heaviest snowfall so far, and all Srinagar flights were cancelled for the day, according to Skymet.

Winters have also been drier than the averages. Jammu and Kashmir received 100.6 mm of rain and snow from December 2025 to February 2026, against a normal of 284.9 mm, and it was the region’s “seventh consecutive winter rainfall deficit”, according to Meteorological Centre Srinagar data reported by ETV Bharat.

For the best chance of snow, Gulmarg is the better bet of the three: it’s colder and gets about twice Srinagar’s rain and snow. See Gulmarg weather for its snow reports and ski season. First-snow dates for each recent winter are in Snowfall in Kashmir, January week by week in Kashmir in January, and February’s snow, ski courses and roads in Kashmir in February.

Chillai Kalan

Chillai Kalan is the harshest 40 days of Kashmir’s winter. It begins on 21 December. For 2025–26, PTI, in Kashmir Reader, and IANS, in Siasat, gave the end date as 30 January; other reports, including Outlook India in December 2025, say 31 January.

Roads in winter

Snow and ice close roads at short notice. Check the day’s traffic advisory before you set out.

• Jammu–Srinagar highway (NH 44): shut by snow from 23 January 2026, near the Navyug tunnel according to Skymet, and still closed on the third day with hundreds of vehicles stranded, PTI reported. See Jammu to Srinagar.
• Mughal Road: reopened on 11 January 2026 after seven days closed, News On Air reported, then shut again; the 40 km Shopian–Peer Ki Gali stretch was ordered reopened from 27 February 2026, according to News On Air, for light motor vehicles, Kashmir Life reported.
• Sinthan Road and the SSG road: the Sinthan Road, the Srinagar–Sonamarg–Gumri (SSG) road and the Mughal Road were “already closed” on 27 January 2026, according to IANS, reported by Siasat; Greater Kashmir reported the SSG road’s closure from Ganderbal the same day.
• Sonamarg: the Sonamarg tunnel, opened on 13 January 2025, gives “all-weather connectivity between Sonamarg and Gagangeer”, News On Air reported. Snow can still close the Srinagar–Sonamarg–Gumri road, as it had by 27 January 2026.
• Gurez: the road over Razdan Pass closes after snow. It was shut on 21 January 2025 and 7 March 2026, Kashmir Life reported, and this autumn on 13 October 2026, reopening the next day, Greater Kashmir reported, before snow closed it again on 15 October, ANI reported. Later that day it reopened one way, for vehicles from Bandipora to Gurez only, a Border Roads Organisation official told Kashmir News Service. See the Gurez guide.
• Zoji La, towards Ladakh: in 2024–25 it stayed open until 26 February 2025, then closed under more than three feet of snow, News On Air reported. See Srinagar to Leh by road.

Flights and trains in winter

Snow can stop flights at Srinagar for a day at a time: all flights were cancelled on 23 January 2026, according to Skymet, and 58 on 27 January, Kashmir Life reported. The train has helped when roads and flights stop: for 3 and 4 February 2026 Indian Railways scheduled four special services between Katra and Srinagar for stranded travellers, News On Air reported. See the Srinagar airport guide and Vande Bharat to Srinagar.

What’s on and what’s open

• Skiing: the Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering runs 14-day courses at Gulmarg from 20 December 2026 to 13 March 2027; booking opens on 12 November 2026, according to IISM.
• Khelo India Winter Games: the Gulmarg leg was held on 23–26 February in 2026, closing on 26 February, ANI reported. A dry spell moved it to late February in 2024, Kashmir Life reported, and poor snow to 9–12 March in 2025, according to IANS.
• Gulmarg Gondola: runs in winter but stops in bad weather, as on 26 February 2025, Greater Kashmir reported. See Gondola tickets for booking and the reported maintenance days.
• Closures: places such as Baisaran, Chandanwari and Tulian Lake near Pahalgam, and Babareshi Tangmarg, near Gulmarg, are on the official list of closed destinations, under orders that run to 31 December 2026. See what’s closed; we’ll re-check after the orders lapse. The Go Kashmir app flags each closed place on its place card, with the date it was checked.

• Pack for nights well below freezing in Gulmarg and Pahalgam, and around freezing in Srinagar.
• Keep a spare day either side of flights and long drives in case snow stops them.
• Check the traffic advisory before driving to Jammu, Gurez or Ladakh.
• For snow, plan around Gulmarg rather than Srinagar.

Winter questions