This year, Winters started late but caught up well till the end of season for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Even until the first few days of January, the state had only received a few snow spells. Normally otherwise, isolated places start receiving light snowfall October onward. In December, the weather usually results in a white Christmas and a snow-clad New Year.
However, Winters started on a disappointing note with December observing deficient snowfall by 51%. In January, the weather picked up and stats immediately caught up to 46% excess. February performed even better than January and stats showed an 85% excess for the month.
Putting together both the months, we see a 68% rise in the snowfall than the normal figures for the time span. It will not be wrong to term that this year it has snowed much better than the accumulative average of Jammu-Kashmir over the years. Also, this snow was not isolated but covered higher, mid and lower reaches alike.
Looking at the rainfall figures for February which includes normal rains versus received rainfall:
We see that most places in February received better snowfall than they normally do in February.
Snow which acts as a lifeline for the state provides it drinking water, and the much-needed source of irrigation for horticulture and agriculture. Snow provides food and a living for the valley people by bringing tourists flocking in from all over the world. This for sure is going to be a better year for the residents.
If we compile our outlook for March, the quantum of rainfall is more for the month however, the share of snow starts decreasing.
Image Credits – India Today
Any information taken from here should be credited to Skymet Weather
