Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh receive excess rainfall in April following a deficit from January to March

Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh receive excess rainfall in April following a deficit from January to March

After three months of deficit rainfall, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh received above normal rainfall in the month of April, officials said.

The data provided by the meteorological department’s (MeT) local centre, the union territories collectively received 113 mm of average precipitation in April against a normal of 99.5 mm – registering an increase of 13%.

“The month of April witnessed just above normal rainfall of 112.9 mm after three months of deficit precipitation,” the centre’s deputy director Mukhtar Ahmad said, adding that the months of March and April are the wettest months in the region. “In 2017, we had recorded 222 mm of rain in April, the highest in 15 years,” he said.

Another meteorologist, Mohammad Hussain Mir, said April received normal rainfall last year as well. “The weather in April has been its usual last year also, though we have been witnessing up and down in other months,” he said.

The month also witnessed light snowfall in upper reaches intermittently. Gulmarg had received 16.4 cm of snowfall in the month.

District wise, some areas received more than double precipitation than normal while two districts in Jammu recorded 45 to 85 percent deficit rainfall.

Kashmir’s northern district of Kupwara recorded an increase of 127% with 163.5 mm rain in the month. The highest 212.6 mm rainfall was recorded in another northern district, Baramulla, an 87% departure from the normal. The summer capital Srinagar recorded a 76% increase with 165 mm rains.

In Jammu division, Samba district recorded an 86% departure from normal and received 46 mm rains. The highest rainfall in the division was recorded in Poonch with 169 mm rains, followed by Doda with 154 mm precipitation.

The Ladakh union territory, though contributing negligibly to the over precipitation of the overall region, also recorded an increase in precipitation. The Kargil district recorded 25.6 mm rainfall, up from a normal of 2.8 mm — a whopping increase of 814%.

Ahmad said the marginally above normal precipitation would recharge the groundwater levels, adding, “Our farmers face a lot of issues if there is a deficit, although we already have deficit months this year,”

In the winter months of January and February, Jammu and Kashmir had received 22% deficit rains and snowfall.

Rains continue in Kashmir

Rains lashed parts of Jammu and Kashmir on Tuesday bringing down the day temperatures below normal.

The meteorological department said that Srinagar recorded 3.4 mm rainfall, Pahalgam 6.1 mm, Kokernag 6.1 mm and Gulmarg 7.4 mm in Kashmir while Jammu city recorded 9.7 mm rainfall, 6.2 in Batote and 4.6 mm in Bhaderwah in Jammu division. “In Kashmir, Srinagar recorded a maximum of 19.8 degree Celsius, some 2.5 degrees below normal while Jammu city witnessed day temperature of 22.8 degree Celsius, some 12.9 degrees below normal,” a department official said.

The weather is expected to be fair to partly cloudy with brief spells of rain, thunderstorm towards late afternoon or evenings between May 4 to 6.

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