Heavy snowfall was witnessed across the country on Wednesday, bringing life to a standstill in many places. The mountainous districts got blanketed in snow while the lowland areas were battered by rain.

Scores of domestic and international flights were forced to either divert or cancel on Wednesday.

According to the domestic airport’s terminal in Kathmandu, out of 137 scheduled departure flights, 67 were cancelled as of 5:30 pm.

All flights on the mountain airfields were also cancelled.

Buddha Air said it was forced to cancel 80 out of 140 scheduled flights on Wednesday.

“All flights after 4pm were cancelled,” said Dipendra Karna, communication manager of Buddha Air. “All flights to and from Pokhara and flights to Tumlingtar from Kathmandu were also cancelled.”

Yeti Airlines cancelled 15 out of 24 scheduled flights on Wednesday.

“Due to the bad weather conditions, all evening flights were cancelled,” said Sudarshan Bartaula, spokesperson of Yeti Airlines. “The air routes were obstructed with thick clouds and affected by turbulence.”

According to Yeti Airlines, the flights that took off in the first half of the day were affected by heavy turbulence due to the bad weather.

In the international sector, Air Arabia was forced to divert to Lucknow, India on Wednesday noon due to the weather issue, according to Tribhuvan International Airport.

Meanwhile, Mugu, Humla, Jumla, Dolpa and other Himalayan districts of Karnali have been blanketed in snow, affecting the daily lives of the local residents.

The upper region, including Simkot of Humla, has been witnessing snowfall for the past two days, causing disruption in daily activities.

Farmers, however, are happy to witness the snowfall. Locals say that snowfall will increase apple, barley and wheat production—the key winter crops in the mountain region.

In Baitadi of Sudurpaschim, it has been snowing since Tuesday night. Vehicular movement in many parts of the district has been disrupted due to the snow, according to the District Police Office in Baitadi.

Similarly, various districts of Gandaki Province witnessed heavy snowfall on Wednesday. The high altitude settlements in Manang, Mustang, Myagdi, Gorkha and Baglung have been hugely affected by thick blankets of snow.

According to Tsering Lopsang Gurung of Manang village, it has been snowing in upper Manang since Monday afternoon.

Rasuwa in Bagmati Province also experienced its first snowfall of the season on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, it has been snowing in the northern region of Gorkha district since Tuesday night. Several settlements in Chumanuvri Rural Municipality have been blanketed in snow. Gupsipakha, an integrated settlement in Laprak of Dharche, has also witnessed snowfall.

Ganesh Gurung of Laprak Gupsipakha said it started snowing from 8pm on Tuesday night and it has yet to stop.

The Kathmandu Valley and surrounding areas have been receiving rainfall since Tuesday night, and places like Phulchowki and Chandragiri witnessed their first snowfall of the season on Wednesday.

In Sindhupalchowk, snowfall has been continuous since Wednesday morning.

(With inputs from district correspondents.)