Rains lashed Kashmir Valley and parts of Jammu, bringing relief to the people from weeks of hot and dry conditions. The weatherman has forecast more light to moderate rains in next 24 hours as well as another rain spell of similar intensity on April 20-21.
“As expected, light to moderate rain occurred at many places of J&K since late night and early morning. Today and tomorrow (April 13 &14), the weather is likely to remain generally cloudy with light rain at many places of Kashmir and at some places of Jammu although there’s no forecast of any major rainfall,” a meteorological department official told GNS. “Next spell of light to moderate rain (is) likely during 20-21st April.”
He said that Srinagar received 5.3 mm of rain fall till 0830 hours this morning and recorded a low of 11.8°C against 11.2°C on the previous night. The temperature, he said, was 4.2°C above normal during this time of the year for the summer capital.
Qazigund received 9.2 mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 10.8°C against 8.6°C on the previous night. The temperature was above normal by 4.3°C for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.
Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had 1.2 mm of rainfall and recorded a low of 10.3°C against 11.4°C on the previous night. It was 4.2°C more than normal during this time of the season for the place, the official said.
Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, received 6.8 mm of rain during the time and recorded a low of 7.6°C against 6.9°C on the last night. The temperature was 4.7°C above normal for the place, he said.
Gulmarg had 7.8 mm of rainfall and recorded a low of 2.5°C against 7.5°C on the previous night, the official said. While 1.5°C is normal for the world famous skiing resort during this time of the season, the official said that the temperature was 1.0°C above normal for the place in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Kupwara town in north Kashmir received 7.4 mm of rain and recorded a low of 9.7°C against 8.1°C on the previous night. The temperature was normal by 3.4°C, the official told Global News Service.
Rains eluded Jammu district and it recorded a low of 24.8°C against 26.6°C on the previous night, the official said. The temperature was 5.2°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital, he said.
Banihal had 2.4 mm of rain and recorded a low of 13.4°C, Batote recorded a minimum of 16.6°C with no rain while Bhaderwah had 0.8 mm of rain and recorded a low of 12.2°C, the official said.
J&K received largely 80% deficient rain due to the absence of any strong western disturbance or the winds blowing from the Mediterranean bringing moisture in March this year. The capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar were largely dry.
MeT department said last month, Jammu city received only 2.1mm rains against normal of 68 mm and Srinagar city received 21.3mm of rainfall as against normal of 117.6mm. (GNS)