Sandakphu experienced its first significant snowfall of this winter, albeit slightly late, on Tuesday, while Darjeeling witnessed rain and hailstorm after an exceptionally long dry spell, bringing relief to residents and the brew belt alike.
Chandan Pradhan, secretary of Singalila Land Rover’s Association, that ferries tourists from Maneybhanjyang — the entry point to the Singalila national park — to Sandakphu at an altitude of around 11,900 feet said that the region received a thick blanket of snow.
“This is the first significant snowfall in Sandakphu of this winter season. Many vehicles could not reach Sandakphu due to slippery roads,” said Pradhan.
While it snowed in Sandakphu, a hailstorm lashed Darjeeling around noon. It had started to drizzle in the hill town from around 10.30am.
Snow drapes vasts stretches of Sandakphu on Tuesday
Darjeeling and even Sikkim had not received any significant rainfall from October 4, 2025 onwards, which had worried tea planters, farmers and local residents.
Data sourced from the India Meteorological Department (IMD) states that Darjeeling received only 0.2mm of rainfall from January 1 to February 2, 2026, against a normal of 12.9mm during the corresponding period, a rainfall deficit of 98 per cent.
Planters were worried as the plucking of premium first flush had just started
in Darjeeling.
“This rain arrived as a blessing at the right time,” said Rupesh Pradhan, managing director of Mayukh tea, that sources tea from various tea gardens.
“I had recently visited a number of gardens and the drought-like situation had us in the tea trade worried,” said Pradhan.
Dr G.N. Raha, head of the IMD (Gangtok centre), stated that Darjeeling would experience mostly dry weather from Wednesday.
“The snowfall and rain is because of the passing Western Disturbance. While weather will remain rainy in Sikkim for the next six to seven days, Darjeeling is expected to stay mostly dry from Wednesday,” Raha added.
Without Gangtok and Darjeeling had started facing major water crises.
Lack of rain apart, the region had also experienced a relatively warmer winter this time.
According to figures shared by the IMD (Gangtok), the average minimum temperature in Darjeeling in January was 3 degrees Celsius against the normal average minimum of 1.7. The average minimum temperature for Darjeeling in February till Tuesday was 4.5 degrees Celsius against the normal average minimum
of 3.1.
A similar trend was clocked for maximum temperatures. Darjeeling’s mean maximum temperature in January was 14.4 degrees Celsius against the average normal of 11.1. For February, the average maximum temperature till Tuesday was 15.8 degrees Celsius against an average 12.4.