Srinagar- Higher reaches of Kashmir on Monday received the season’s first snowfall while plains were lashed by rains, ending a month-long dry spell in the valley, officials said.
Affarwat in Gulmarg area of Baramulla district and Sadhna Top in Kupwara district received light snowfall, they said.
Reports of snowfall were received from uninhabited mountainous areas in Kashmir as well. Srinagar and other plain areas of the valley were lashed by rain late in the afternoon, they added.
The snowfall and rain lowered the day temperature significantly, signalling the arrival of winter in Kashmir.
Mughal Road Closed
The Mughal Road, connecting south Kashmir with Rajouri and Poonch districts of Jammu’s Pir Panjal region and Bandipora-Gurez road were closed to vehicular traffic on Monday evening following fresh snowfall in the higher reaches, officials said.
An official said that the Peer Ki Gali area, where 2 inches of snow was recorded till this evening, was also closed.
He said that no vehicular traffic will be permitted on Mughal and Bandipora-Gurez roads until the weather conditions improve and the roads are cleared.
The official said that light to moderate snowfall are going on over the higher reaches at most places of Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Army has rescued passengers stranded on an SRTC bus at Khooni Nallah after heavy snowfall halted travel.
The official said that the bus, operating on the Karnah-Srinagar route, was stopped mid-route, leaving passengers, including children and elderly, in cold conditions.
Responding to an emergency call, the army deployed personnel who reached the stranded group and evacuated them. The passengers were taken to the Sadhna Top shelter, where they were provided warmth through traditional heating gadgets, the official said.
The weatherman has forecasted continued adverse weather conditions for Jammu and Kashmir, including rain and light snowfall in the higher reaches, for the next 24 hours due to the influence of a western disturbance.
J&K Faces 27% Rainfall Deficit
Jammu and Kashmir has recorded a deficit rainfall of 27 per cent since January 01 his year till October 31st while the prolonged dry spell in the ongoing season has further ended up in the receding of water level in river Jhelum and other streams, which simultaneously lead to the water scarcity in Kashmir parts as well.
As per the data available, the year—2024 began on an alarming note, as J&K recorded a deficit rainfall of 48% during January and February months. However, another season from March to May—a pre-monsoon period — ended with a nine per cent shortfall.
The Monsoon season also ended with 26 per cent deficit rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir following which the previous month—October also ended with a 74 per cent deficit, with parts of South Kashmir experiencing more than a 90 per cent deficit.
Thereby, the data suggests that overall; there has been a deficit of 27 per cent rainfall from January 01, 2024 to October 31, 2024.
However, the parts of Kashmir received a fresh light snowfall today, bringing an end to the 50-day dry spell in Jammu and Kashmir.
The higher reaches of Kilshay Top, Tulail, and nearby villages in Gurez, famous tourist destination Gulmarg-phase2, Doodhpathri, Sinthan top , Zojila pass and Baltal Pahalgam experienced fresh snowfall today while the plains including Srinagar—the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir received light rainfall as well.
As per the details, phase-II of Gulmarg has received two inches of snowfall.
The fresh light wet spell—an outcome of a weak Western Disturbance, has led to the decline in the mercury as well. It has been learnt that moderate to heavy rain and hailstorm was witnessed in Poonch this afternoon as well.
An Independent Weather Forecaster, Faizan Arif Keng while sharing his views on the low precipitation in J&K, said that it can be attributed to the absence of Western Disturbances and the early retreat of the monsoon.
“The underlying cause, however, is climate change driven by global warming, which has made weather patterns increasingly unpredictable. Addressing this challenge requires coordinated efforts at local, national, and global levels to control rising temperatures. Unfortunately, current measures fall significantly short of what’s needed to curb the escalating impact on our climate,” he said.
Meanwhile, with the deficit rainfall and prolonged dry spell, the water level in the river Jhelum and other streams have dropped to new all-time low.
The water level of Jhelum at Sangam dropped to minus 0.82 feet on 06 Nov 9 a.m., which is the lowest water level recorded at the station while at Pampore, the gauge reading was minus 1.75 meters, at Ram Munshi Bagh Srinagar, it was 1.28 feet and 1.15 feet at Asham.
Some tributaries of Jhelum were also flowing at a record low level.
The water level of Vishow Nallah at Khudwani was recorded at 2.31 m, minus 0.45 m of Rambiyara Nallah at Wachi & Lidder Nallah at Batkoot, 0.61 m of Doodhganga Nallah at Barzulla, and 0.02 m of Sindh Nallah at Doderhama.
The persistent dry spell has also affected the water supply in Jammu and Kashmir with the in the Jal Shakti department stating that the water reservoirs are almost running dry.
Chief Engineer, Jal Shakti (PHE) department, Vivek Kohli, said that the water supply is being ensured to the people twice a day, but added that the flow of supply remains, however, low compared to the previous time due to the less water availability.
Kohli also said that the additional supply to the consumers through water tanks is being ensured to the people wherever necessary. ( with KNO inputs)
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