J&K records acute rainfall deficit in Ist week of Jan
* Dry spell till Jan 22, cold wave to intensify: MeT
Fayaz Bukhari/Gopal Sharma
SRINAGAR/ JAMMU, Jan 7: While Jammu and Kashmir has witnessed an acute rainfall deficit in the first week of the new year, with several districts recording no precipitation, a large number of tourists rejoice their maiden experience as Bhaderwah received fresh snowfall last evening.
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Many plain areas of Jammu region continued to be under the cover of moderate to thick fog, which affected air and train traffic, while cold continued to intensify in the region.
As per the India Meteorological Depart-ment’s (IMD) seasonal rainfall report for the period from January 1 to January 7, the Jammu and Kashmir subdivision received only 1.4 mm of rainfall against a normal of 16 mm, registering a sharp deficit of 91 per cent.
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Several districts, including Budgam, Doda, Ramban, Samba, Shopian, Srinagar and Udhampur, recorded no rainfall during the period, reflecting a 100 per cent departure from normal and placing them in the “No Rain” category.
Other districts also reported severely deficient rainfall. Kulgam recorded a 99 per cent shortfall, Pulwama and Kishtwar 98 per cent each, Bandipora 96 per cent, Kathua and Kupwara 92 per cent each, Reasi 92 per cent, and Anantnag 84 per cent below normal.
Kargil emerged as the only district to receive above-normal rainfall, registering a 14 per cent excess, while Poonch recorded a relatively lower deficit of 13 per cent, close to the normal range.
According to IMD classification, most parts of J&K currently fall under the “Large Deficient” (-60 to -99 per cent) or “No Rain” (-100 per cent) categories, with no subdivision reporting excess or large excess rainfall.
The Meteorological Centre Srinagar has also forecast subdued weather activity in the coming weeks.
In its latest forecast issued today, the MeT Centre said weather is likely to remain partly cloudy from January 7 to January 15.
From January 16 to 17, generally cloudy conditions are expected, with light rain or snowfall at isolated places in the Kashmir division.
It said that weather is likely to remain partly to generally cloudy on January 18 and 19, while January 20 may witness generally cloudy conditions with light snowfall at isolated higher reaches of the Kashmir division.
“Partly cloudy weather is forecast from January 21 to 22. Overall, nothing significant is expected till January 22,” the MeT Centre said.
In its advisory, the MeT Centre warned of a significant fall in minimum temperatures across the Union Territory till January 10, after which temperatures may rise by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius.
It also cautioned that moderate fog over the plains of the Jammu division, with dense fog at isolated places, is likely to persist over the next five days.
A Kashmir-based independent weather expert, ‘Kashmir Weather,’ said that Chillai-Kalan is now entering its peak phase, with cold-wave conditions set to tighten their grip over J&K from Thursday.
It said minimum temperatures in the Kashmir plains are expected to range between minus 4°C and minus 9°C, while higher reaches could experience much harsher conditions, with temperatures generally hovering between minus 6°C and minus 13°C.
In the Jammu plains, minimum temperatures are likely to range between 0°C and 6°C, he said.
The expert further said that largely dry weather is expected to prevail over the next 10 days, aggravating the rainfall deficit.
“Barring weak Western Disturbances, no major weather system is likely to affect J&K till January 17,” he said, adding that isolated rain or snowfall over higher elevations cannot be ruled out around January 12 and 13.
He said that with dry weather conditions continuing, water levels in rivers and streams are expected to keep falling.
Meanwhile, visitors from different parts of the country particularly Maharashtra, who thronged famous winter destination of Bhaderwah valley in Jamu region came to pleasant surprise when suddenly snowflakes started ascending, turning their wishes true.
Tourists who had converged in large number at Guldanda, Panj Nallah and Chattargalla located at a height of 9,555, 10,200 and 10,500 ft from sea level simultaneously, on Bhaderwah-Pathankot highway to enjoy the beauty of snow peaked alps, were delighted to experience the live snowfall most of the them for the first time.
Fresh snowfall in the upper reaches of Bhaderwah valley, particularly in areas like Guldanda, Chattergalla and Panj Nallah, has transformed the region into a picturesque winter wonderland.
Delighted tourists called the experience “magical,” “dream-like,” and “breathtaking,” boosting winter tourism and creating memorable first-time snow experiences for many visitors from across India.
The snowfall, coinciding with the harsh Chillai-Kalan period, has brought excitement, scenic beauty, and renewed hope for the local tourism industry, with visitors enjoying the serene charm.
“It’s too cold as there is heavy snowfall, but we are enjoying it to the fullest extent,” said Manisha Galpe (38) from Nashik, Maharashtra.
“The experience to witness live snowfall for the first time is like a fairy tale as I have seen this only in movies, this place is worth visiting and everyone should come at least once in life,” said Dattaray Phaude another visitor from Maharashtra.
“We have been visiting Vaishno Devi shrine since last seven years and to visit Kashmir, we choose to go only to Patni Top, but this time we came to Bhaderwah and the decision is turning out to be the memorable one. I suggest that whosoever comes to visit Kashmir should surely come and visit Bhaderwah as well to make their trip the memorable one,” said Yash Dattero from Nashik.
Meanwhile, moderate to dense fog in many parts of Jammu region today affected air, train and vehicular traffic.
Director Airport Authority, Jammu, Devender Yadav said that total 16 flights operated today from Jammu Airport. He said no flight was cancelled but four Indigo flights including, Jammu-Delhi-Jammu; Indore –Jammu-Indore, Leh-Jammu-Leh and Sgr-Jammu-Delhi were delayed. All these flights were rescheduled for their respective destinations.
Rest of the flights operated normally as the weather improved after 11.30 am. The fog is witnessed even during evening hours and late evening operation is also hit some times, he added.
Similarly, the train services and vehicular traffic has also been hit due to fog during past 24 hours. The outskirts of the Jammu city were again under the cove of dense fog late this evening.
A MeT official said that Jammu recorded a minimum temperature of 8.7 degree Celsius and maximum 14.8 deg; Bhaderwah town a minimum temperature of minus 2.6 deg C and maximum 10.5 ; Katra town minimum 4 deg C, Banihal reported a night temperature of 2.3 deg while Batote a minimum temp of 3.1 and maximum 11.1 deg C today. Jammu’s night temperature has experienced a little rise as compared to yesterday.
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