An avalanche warning was issued in Uttarakhand on Tuesday after fresh snowfall in higher reaches including Badrinath and Kedarnath. This is the second snowfall in the state in less than a week. Meanwhile, snowfall is also occurring in many parts of Himachal Pradesh. A spectacular yet disturbing video has emerged from Mindhal village in Himachal Pradesh, showing a river of ice flowing down a mountain slope due to heavy snowfall. This natural phenomenon, caused by the movement of accumulated snow, has shocked the local people and put the authorities on high alert amid the extreme cold. Videos of this extraordinary sight are going viral, in which thick sheets of snow are seen falling rapidly like a liquid stream due to the sudden change during heavy rains.
Finally a good amount of snow in the Himalayas. After yesterday’s snowfall almost all areas are snow covered now.
You have seen water flowing, today check snow flowing through the stream.📍Pangi Chamba pic.twitter.com/U0ZcCQsQXV
— Nikhil Saini (@iNikhilsaini) January 28, 2026
Video viral on X
This video was shared on X (previously Twitter) with the handle @iNikhilsaini. The caption reads, “Finally, there has been good snowfall in the Himalayas. After yesterday’s snowfall, almost all the areas are now covered with snow. You might have seen water flowing; today, see snow flowing in the river.” Villagers in the area used traditional whistles, which are traditional warning signals for natural disasters in the region, to alert nearby residents about the falling snow and ask them to move to safer places. The incident took place in Mindhal village of Pangi tribal area, a high and remote area of Chamba. Residents of Pangi Valley described this snowfall as the heaviest snowfall in many years. Record-breaking snowfall has isolated the valley, closing roads and disrupting daily life. More than 800 roads have been closed across the state.
How do such incidents happen?
It is worth noting that snow falling like a waterfall is quite common in the mountains. This occurs when strong winds remove snow from peaks or when large amounts of snow accumulates on steep slopes. In this case, a prolonged drought was followed by heavy, record-breaking snowfall, resulting in large accumulations of fresh snow. Due to sudden geological changes or gravitational forces, thick sheets of ice began to flow rapidly down the mountain slope, creating a flowing river or “ice waterfall”. Experts say that despite its spectacular appearance, such fast flows of snow in steep mountain areas are extremely dangerous.
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