Jammu and Kashmir continue to be covered under snow. The state has received a fresh snowfall which interrupted the normal life out there. From Friday the region is al hit with heavy snowfall. It is being predicted that widespread rainfall and snow is expected to cover the state with heavy snowfalls for the next 3 days.

On Monday and Tuesday, it is being expected that heavy snowfall will touch across Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand after one day break moderate snow is likely to happen from January 24 to 26 in the region.

The head of IMD’s regional meteorological center, BP Yadav said, “We have issued a red alert in J&K from Saturday till Tuesday, and in Himachal Pradesh for Monday and Tuesday, as very heavy snow/ rain is expected in parts of the region. For Uttarakhand, a lower level alert has been issued for heavy snowfall on Monday and Tuesday.”

Last January it was a dry month as per recorded by Nasa’s satellite images but this January is going give a set of highest snowfall in the past several years.

D P Dhobal, a glaciologist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun said, “This is the best snowfall we have had in Uttarakhand in at least the last three years. Snow is the main source of water in the Himalayan rivers that feed the northern plains. If we get two-three more snow spells off in February and March, water discharge in the rivers will remain relatively high till peak summer.”

On January 6, Uttarakhand’s lone snow gauge at Mukteshwar recorded the trace of snowfall which indicated that the lower hills in the state have not received a huge rainfall yet.

According to a mountaineer Mallika Virde who lives in Sarmoli village near Munsiyari as the huge snowfall is being recorded, “In Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district, we have had around five spells of snow so far this winter, which is around normal.”

Srinagar has received 54 cm of snow till now which is very close to the normal for the entire month that is 57 cm The chief of Srinagar Met department, Sonam Lotus said that “We expect above normal snowfall this winter.”

Meanwhile, Kothi in Kullu district has received 110 cm of snow this month that is nearly 15 times more than the last January that received 7.5 cm. Shimla has received 8.5 cm of snow which is more than the last January and is also expected to increase in the next coming days.

The head of the regional MET department at Shimla, Manmohan Singh said, “Temperatures have been quite low this month. This, coupled with frequent western disturbances, has brought heavy snow in many districts of Himachal.”

Published by Isha Kataria on 21 Jan 2019