Gangtok, Oct 31: Fresh snowfall covered the higher reaches along the Indo-China border, including Nathula Pass, on Friday, leading to a sharp drop in temperatures across Sikkim. Several high-altitude regions recorded sub-zero temperatures, disrupting movement along key mountain routes.

According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), heavy to very heavy snowfall was reported since early morning in Nathula, Kupup, and Tsomgo (Changu) Lake areas. The IMD has issued a red alert for Sikkim, warning of continued severe weather conditions over the next 24 hours.

Local authorities have advised tourists and transport operators to avoid travel to higher elevations, as roads have turned slippery due to snow accumulation. Teams from the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) are working continuously to clear the snow and maintain essential connectivity. Disaster response teams have been placed on standby as temperatures in the Nathula region are expected to drop further overnight, marking one of the earliest and heaviest snowfalls of the season.

Meanwhile, the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) has released Rs 8.3 lakh to Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in Uttar Pradesh and Sikkim under the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) framework of the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change said on Saturday.

The funds were transferred directly to two committees—the Narrau village BMC in Akrabad Kaul Taluk, Aligarh district of Uttar Pradesh, and the BMC in the Lampokhari Lake area of Aritar, Sikkim—through their respective State Biodiversity Boards.

According to the Ministry, the funds relate to projects involving the use of crop materials in Narrau village for producing fermentable compounds from lignocellulosic biomass and microorganisms from water and soil samples at Lampokhari Lake for research purposes.

The NBA stated that the initiative aims to empower local custodians to play a leading role in biodiversity conservation and sustainable resource management. Earlier, the Authority had released Rs 1.36 crore to support grassroots biodiversity projects in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.