Babusar-Naran Highway opens for Kaghan Valley traffic

After snowfall at Babusar Top, Babusar-Naran Highway has been opened for Gilgit-Baltistan and Kaghan Valley traffic after more than 40 vehicles of tourists were stuck there.

The tourists were rescued by Diamer administration and moved to safer places.

The administration has also banned tourists and locals from travelling on the Babusar-Naran highway from 6am to 6pm and appealed to tourists and locals not to travel on the highway during restricted hours.

Glaciers and snow have melted on the tops of the valley due to rising temperatures during the month of April, but now the weather has turned cold again after snowfall again in May inciting climate change fears in the valley.

In the past, snowfall at Babusar top was normal during May, but the melting of glaciers during the month of April indicates that the Kaghan Valley is now suffering from climate change.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 24^th, 2022.