Owais Gul
Srinagar, Jan 30: In a first of its kind, Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir and other parts of the Valley witnessed the record-breaking driest Chillai-Kalan this year.
As per the details shared by the Meteorological department, this year’s prolonged dry spell has surpassed the previous records at all the stations across Kashmir.
In Srinagar, a precipitation of 1.5 mm was received from December 21, 2023 to January 30, 2024, thereby recording the driest-ever Chillai-Kalan. The previous driest Chillai-Kalan in Srinagar was witnessed in 2015 when 5.6 mm precipitation was recorded.
Gulmarg, a famous ski-resort, has surpassed the record of 1987 when 17.7 mm precipitation was recorded. The famous spot has recorded a precipitation of just 17.3 mm this Chillai-Kalan.
Qazigund also surpassed the record of 2018 as against the then precipitation of 4.8mm, it has recorded 0.0 mm precipitation this Chillai-Kalan.
Pahlagam, a famous tourist spot has witnessed the driest-ever Chillai-Kalan after the gap of six years as against the precipitation of 13.9 in 2018, it has recorded a precipitation of only 2.7 mm in the last 40 days.
Kupwara also recorded a low precipitation during the 40-day harshest winter period this year as against the previous record of 15.8 mm in 2001, it has received a precipitation of just 13.8 mm.
Kokernag and Banihal have recorded 0.0 mm precipitation this Chillai-Kalan, thus simultaneously breaking the previous record of 5.5 mm and 4.3 mm precipitation respectively in the year 2018.
Pertinently, the 40-day Chillai-Kalan in Kashmir this year witnessed warmer days and prolonged dry spell while the experts here have sounded alert, saying that the dry spell will have repercussions in the future.
