Char Dham Yatra Suspended Until September 27 as IMD Issues Red Alert for Heavy Rain Across Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand authorities suspended the Char Dham Yatra from Saturday afternoon, September 26, until September 27, 2026, following a red alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall issued by the India Meteorological Department and the State Emergency Operation Centre, according to ANI, India TV News, and The Print. Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swaroop directed all district magistrates to prioritize pilgrim safety and halt the pilgrimage until weather conditions improve. The suspension covers the four sacred shrines of Badrinath, Kedarnath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri.

A red alert was issued for five mountainous districts on September 26 including Bageshwar, Pithoragarh, Champawat, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar, while orange alerts cover Dehradun, Chamoli, Pauri, Rudraprayag, and Almora. Heavy rain lashed most parts of the state from Saturday morning, with high-altitude areas experiencing intermittent snowfall and continuous snowfall at Hemkund Sahib leading to a further drop in temperatures. Helicopter services for the Kedarnath Yatra have remained disrupted since morning due to unfavourable weather, with helicopter operations suspended and movement of pilgrims by air temporarily halted. The Rudraprayag district administration has been placed on high alert.

This matters because the Char Dham Yatra is one of India's largest annual pilgrimages, with over 5 million devotees having visited the shrines so far this year according to official figures reported by India TV News, including 1.75 million at Badrinath, 1.5 million at Kedarnath, and around 326,000 at Hemkund Sahib. The suspension during the final weeks before winter closures affects pilgrims from across India and abroad, and underscores the ongoing vulnerability of Himalayan pilgrimage routes to monsoon weather, which has repeatedly disrupted the yatra this season with landslides and heavy rain-related incidents.

Sources

Sources: ANI, India TV News, The Print, ETV Bharat, News Bytes App, Latestly. All outlets report the suspension decision by Garhwal Commissioner Anand Swaroop on September 26 based on IMD red alert. Pilgrim numbers verified against India TV News and ETV Bharat reporting.