Srinagar,08,Nov:The meteorological department said a western disturbance is approaching the region after more than two months of dry weather. “There are chances of rain and snow from November 13 to 15,” said the department’s deputy director, Mukhtar Ahmad.
Kashmir owes its precipitation mostly to winds blowing from the Mediterranean Sea called western disturbance.
The valley has had an unusually long dry spell this year, leading to shortage of water for drinking and irrigation.
On November 4, there was light snowfall in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh but there was no precipitation in the plains.
“This year was abnormally dry. The rainfall from July to October was also 35% below normal,” said meteorologist Mohammad Hussain.
MERCURY PLUMMETS IN VALLEY, LADAKH
The minimum temperature in Srinagar dipped to below zero for the first time this season to settle at minus 0.9 degree Celsius on Saturday, while it was 20.8 degrees during the day.
The lowest temperature in Kashmir was in the tourist resort of Pahalgam that recorded a minimum of minus 2.7 degrees Celsius, while Ladakh’s Leh was cold at minus 7.4 degrees.