Category: Environment

Environment

Long dry spells across Kashmir an ‘Emerging Trend’ as well serious concern

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Director meteorological department Srinagar Sonam Lotus on Friday said that an analysis of the weather data of the past decade shows a trend of prolonged dry spells emerging in Kashmir. This year, there has been no rainfall since September 10. “We have a dry spell for the past 61 days. As per our records, it was not the case in Kashmir. We have made analysis that a trend of prolonged dry spell is emerging in Kashmir during the past few years. Last time it rained, it was only 4mm of…

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Fog to thicken in coming days across state

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Smog has been slowly engulfing the state and in all likelihood, the condition will get worse in the coming days due to dry weather. The current haze is due to suspended particles in air which can only get cleared with Western Disturbances (WB) which bring rain, snow and winds from Indo-Gangetic plains. As per the meteorology department, J&K is likely to witness rain or snow on November 14-15 and till then, the air quality is likely to deteriorate. Every year during autumn, the burning of agriculture waste and fossil fuel…

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Jhelum turned into sewer, carries toxic water: Experts

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Environment experts who visited the river Jhelum in Srinagar on Sunday expressed serious concern over its deteriorating condition, terming the dredging of the river ‘a futile exercise’. The experts are members of the Peoples Environment Council, a non-governmental organisation with an aim to protect the environment including water bodies. Hydrologist, Er Ajaz Rasool,who was part of the team, said the dredging of the river was a futile exercise.“It is not going to increase the carrying capacity…There is sewage inflow from both the sides of the river, from houses and residential…

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Water crisis across Kashmir as Jhelum level hits rock bottom

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Villages of Kupwara, Bandipora, Budgam districts most affected An unprecedented water crisis is unfolding in the Kashmir valley as a lengthy dry spell has led to a record low level of water in the Jhelum river, one of the main source of water supply in the region. The areas most affected by the crisis include north Kashmir’s Kupwara and Bandipora districts and central Kashmir’s Budgam district, where dozens of villages are without drinking water supply. In north Kashmir’s Sopore town, the water is being supplied to rural and urban areas…

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Oxygen levels in Dal lake below permissible limits

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High Court directs authorities to upgrade five STPs With the Pollution Control Board indicating in its report that the dissolved oxygen levels in the Dal lake have gone down drastically below the permissible levels due to the continuous flow of domestic sewerage from the back channels, the J&K High court today directed the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA) to explore the possibility of reducing the timeline given for the upgrade of the five existing sewage treatment plants (STPs). The court also directed the authorities to expedite the proposal for…

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Thundershowers, Isolated rain likely over J&K in next 24 hours

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Isolated rain and thundershowers are expected over the parts of Jammu and Kashmir during the next 24 hours, Skymetweather.com reported on Monday. The weather portal reported that presently, a ‘feeble Western Disturbance is seen over northern parts of Jammu and Kashmir.’ “Due to this weather system, isolated rain and thundershowers are expected over northern districts of Jammu and Kashmir region during the next 24 hours,” the report said. It said places such as Kupwara, Srinagar, Baramulla, Kargil will witness scattered rains within the span of next 24 hours. “After 24…

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Jhelum water level reaches record low of six decades

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The Jhelum registered a new low in its recorded history as the water level dropped 0.65 feet below the zero point on Tuesday, making it the lowest drop in the past six decades. The water level of minus 0.65 feet is the “lowest gauge ever recorded at the Sangam site,” said officials of the Irrigation and Flood Control (IFC) Department. The depth was recorded at 9 am and immediately announced by the department as the lowest-ever. The department has been maintaining the daily record of the river’s water level since…

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Kashmir Valley received season’s first light snowfall in upper reaches

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The upper reaches of Kashmir received first light snowfall of the season, resulting in chill in the plains, including the summer capital Srinagar where people were seen wearing woollens and warm clothes on Friday. The upper reaches including Amarnath cave shrine and its periphery, Sheshnag, Mahagunas, Pisso top and Panjtarni received snowfall this evening. Light snowfall was also received at Zojila on Srinagar-Leh highway, connecting Ladakh region with Kashmir. The upper heights in Sonmarg and Baltal, base camp of Amarnath cave, also received snowfall. Kishtwar’s upper reaches including Naginsheeris also…

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Authorities sit on restoration of flood spill channels

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Flood control authorities have done little to clear the flood spill channel of sediments and encroachments, which will go a long way in minimising flood threat to Srinagar. The little restoration work at a few places is not enough if a flood of the scale of 2014 hits the Valley, say experts. The channel starts from Padshahi bagh and flows into Wullar Lake in Bandipora district. It regulates Jhelum water level while it passes through Srinagar city. “This needs to be restored to its original area by removing deposited sediments…

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Willow trees caught out as culprit for Kashmir lake’s woes

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More than 2 million willow trees–once a key source of wood for cricket bats, fruit boxes and fires–will be cut down around Kashmir’s Wular Lake, as part of efforts to revive the region’s largest flood basin. Overlooked by the Himalayas, Wular, one of Asia’s biggest freshwater lakes, sits 34 km (21 miles) northwest of Kashmir’s summer capital, Srinagar. Known for its deep, pristine waters, the lake has suffered extensive degradation in recent decades. In a 2007 study, conservation group Wetlands International said the lake originally covered an area of nearly…

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