Khelo India Winter Games 2025- Part-II, Gulmarg To Host Outdoor Events
Feb 14, 2025, 3:15 PM | Skymet Weather Team
Khelo India Winter Games, Image Courtesy: Indus Dispatch
The 5th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games will be hosted at Gulmarg from Feb 22 to 25, 2025. The event will feature competitions in alpine skiing, Nordic skiing, ski mountaineering and snowboarding. Over 1000 athletes and officials across India are expected to participate. The games will commence with a grand opening ceremony on Feb 22 and conclude on Feb 25 with a medal ceremony and cultural gala.
Lack of snowfall in the Kashmir Valley has been keeping the event on tenterhooks. Last year, there was a threat of postponement on account of insufficient snowfall. Even this year, there is a large seasonal deficit of snowfall in the northern mountains, across the board. Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh witnessed a shortfall of 88% in the month of January. The seasonal margin has improved slightly, and the deficit now stands at 80% between 01st Jan and 13th Feb 2025. Further, the scene is a little better in February, wherein the sub-division has observed a shortfall of 60% during the month of Feb 2025, so far. However, the snow levels still remain inadequate and far short of the desired mark.
There is a silver lining for the northern mountains of the country, sometime around next week. Just before the commencement of Part II games on 22nd Feb 2025, a western disturbance is expected to arrive over the Western Himalayas on 18th Feb and move across the region for the subsequent 3 days, till 20th Feb. Another short and mild spell may come up in between the duration of the games. These back-to-back systems will improve the depth of the snow layer down the slopes of the mountains, as essentially required for outdoor events.
