The day temperature in the Kashmir valley has registered a significant increase and has been several degrees above normal in the last week leading to a drop in the water level of the Jhelum.
The maximum temperature across the region, including in the meadow resorts, has been above the normal for the past week, according to the data of the Indian Meteorological department.
In Srinagar, the maximum temperature on Saturday was recorded at 35.1°C, which was six degrees above normal. In north Kashmir’s Gulmarg resort, the maximum temperature was 22°C, two degrees above the normal.
The maximum temperatures in south Kashmir’s Pahalgam resort, Qazigund town and Kokernag township were also three or four degrees above normal on Saturday.
The increase in the temperature, coinciding with the prevailing dry weather, has forced the water level of the Jhelum to drop drastically. The region witnessed its last major spell of rainfall in early July.
The river’s level on Sunday morning was recorded at 1.13 ft at Sangam in south Kashmir, said an official of the Irrigation and Flood Control department.
Sangam in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district, where Jhelum’s water level has dropped close to zero-point, is one of the three locations where the department records the river’s water level on daily basis. The flood alarm level at Sangam is 18 feet, while flood declaration level is 21 feet and the danger level is 23 feet.
The river has faced an acute shortage of water for the past year even though there were exceptional and brief flood threats triggered by spells of heavy rainfall.
The largely dry weather for past one year and lack of snowfall during the core winter has depleted the sources of water. The river’s water level in October last year had dropped 0.65 feet below the zero-point, which was the lowest-ever at the Jhelum.
Level drops to 1.13 feet
In Srinagar, the maximum temperature on Saturday was 35.1°C, which was six degrees above normal. In north Kashmir’s Gulmarg resort, the maximum temperature was 22°C, two degrees above the normal
The water level of the Jhelum has dropped drastically. The river’s level on Sunday morning was recorded at 1.13 ft at Sangam in south Kashmir
