Srinagar, May 31: Rain, rain, go away, come again another day …
This nursery rhyme sums up Kashmir’s mood in the current situation. Sweaters and pherans are back and people are still using heaters and some even kangris.
Is this weather pattern unusual? Experts have a different take. Though May has witnessed slightly above rainfall, it is not the first time that Kashmir has seen such precipitation in this month.
“It is not something unusual. We have had a wet May earlier too. Since the first half of spring was dry and the latter half wet, we feel there is more rainfall this time around,” said Faizan Arif, Founder of the popular weather channel, ‘Kashmir Weather’.
From March to mid-April, there was a rain deficit in Kashmir. Precipitation level increased after. “May has seen the most rainfall which is above average. There have been hailstorms also. Sunlight hours have also been reduced,” he said.
Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a La Niña effect with erratic weather patterns becoming a new normal. La Niña is a complex weather pattern that impacts the global climate and disrupts normal weather patterns, which can lead to intense storms in some places and droughts in others. It affects winter temperature and precipitation regimes. It has been prevailing since 2020 and is expected to continue till February 2023. Conditions will be no different this winter too.
“Since there is more precipitation in the later half of spring, temperatures too have witnessed a drop. Due to the new weather pattern, our crops are facing the brunt. We have seen damage to orchards and paddy. Heavy hailstorms have occurred more than what it used to be,” said Faizan.
Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing rapid climate change. The UT is warming at a higher rate than the world average. The average temperature of Jammu and Kashmir has increased by 1.2 degree centigrade in the last 100 years. During the same period, the average temperature of the earth increased by 0.8 to 0.9-degree centigrade.
“We too are witnessing climate change. Data shows some months which should have been wet go dry. The dry months are witnessing rainfall,” said Faizan.
Falling in the Himalayan region, Jammu and Kashmir has a geographic area of 101387 square kilometers. It excludes the 120849 square kilometer area which is under the occupation of Pakistan and China. Around 20230 square kilometers, which comprise 19.95 percent of the total geographical area of Jammu and Kashmir, is under forest cover. The higher regions are covered by Pir Panjal, Karakoram, and the inner Himalayan ranges of mountains. Climate change has affected every aspect of life.
“It is an environmental emergency. We need to wake up to this situation,” said an expert.
