Rain spell bring down night temperatures make Kashmir more attractive for tourists

By: Javaid Malik MK

Srinagar

Rains in the past few days have brought respite in the night temperatures making Kashmir valley an idol place for holidaying during the current spring season.

Rains in the hilly areas of Kashmir valley especially in Gulmarg, Pahalgam and Kupwara have made the nights very cold. The MeT department has said that the night temperatures registered were showing a considerable drop and in most of the places mercury settling below normal.

The tourism industry is witnessing a boom with packed hotels and houseboats. There is a shortage of tourist transport also due to the unprecedented arrival of tourists to Kashmir valley.

A meteorological department official here told GNS that Srinagar received traces of rainfall in the last 24 hours till 0830 hours this morning and recorded a low of 7.0°C against 8.7°C on the previous night. The temperature, he said, was 0.6 °C below normal during this time of the year for the summer capital.

Qazigund also received traces of rainfall during the time and recorded a low of 4.8°C against 7.0°C on the previous night. The temperature was below normal by 1.7°C for the gateway town of Kashmir, he said.

Kokernag, also in south Kashmir, had 0.8mm of rainfall during the time and recorded a low of 5.3°C against 6.8°C on the previous night. It was 0.8°C less than normal during this time of the season for the place, the official said.

Pahalgam, the famous resort in south Kashmir, had the highest rainfall of71.mm during the time and recorded a low of 1.2°C against 4.0°C last night. The temperature was 1.6°C below normal for the place, he said.

Gulmarg had 0.2 mm of rainfall and recorded a low of 1.8°C, same as 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 0.3°C above normal for the place in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district.

Kupwara town in north Kashmir received 1.3 mm of rain in the 24 hours and recorded a low of 6.4°C against 7.7°C on the previous night. The temperature was above normal by 0.1°C, the official told Global News Service.

Jammu recorded a low of 19.2°C against 21.0°C on the previous night, the official said. The temperature was 2.1°C above normal for J&K’s winter capital which received traces of rain during the time, he said.

Banihal recorded a low of 8.8°C, Batote 10.8°C while Bhaderwah had a low of 7.9°C, the official said.

In March, J&K received 80% deficient rain due to the absence of any strong western disturbance or the winds blowing from the Mediterranean bringing moisture. The capital cities of Jammu and Srinagar were largely dry.

MeT department said that Jammu city received only 2.1mm of rain against normal of 68 mm last month while Srinagar city received 21.3mm of rainfall as against normal of 117.6mm.                                                                    The weatherman has forecast another spell of light to moderate rain during 19-21 in both J&K and Ladakh.

With GNS inputs