*Rain brings relief in Kashmir, Jammu
Gopal Sharma/Fayaz Bukhari
JAMMU/SRINAGAR, July 29: While heat wave has forced the cancellation of several flights for the first time in Leh, the rain has brought some relief from the record high temperature for the people of Kashmir besides many parts of Jammu.
Official sources said that due to heat wave, many flights in Leh sector of Ladakh have been cancelled over the past two days, leaving hundreds of passengers in despair. This is the first time in six years that such cancellations have occurred due to the rise in temperature in Ladakh.
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“IndiGo and SpiceJet flights have been particularly affected, leaving hundreds of passengers feeling helpless. On Monday, four IndiGo flights had to be cancelled, along with flights from some other airlines. This issue has persisted since Saturday,” the officials said.
The airlines authorities in Leh announced that flights had to be cancelled or rescheduled due to temperatures rising as high as 35 degrees Celsius. However, flights from different airlines that fly in the morning have not been affected. When contacted, managers of various airlines, declined to speak to the media, stating that they were not authorized to do so.
Meanwhile, after recording the second highest night temperature in over a century, people in Kashmir had relief from intense heat wave conditions after rainfall in parts of Kashmir.
Srinagar has recorded a minimum temperature of 24.8°C, marking the 2nd highest minimum temperature in 132 years. “Today’s minimum temperature was 6.0°C above normal and ties with the 2nd all-time highest minimum temperature, which was also recorded on July 26, 2021. The highest minimum temperature remains 25.2°C, recorded on July 21, 1988,” he said.
Most parts of the Kashmir valley, including Srinagar, experienced rainfall today, bringing relief to residents after a prolonged spell of dry, hot, and humid weather.
The MeT office forecast light to moderate rainfall in Srinagar and its surrounding areas this afternoon, providing much-needed respite from the sweltering Sun and oppressive weather.
With the overnight rain for the second consecutive day in Jammu and its surrounding areas, people of the winter capital had a sigh of relief from the hot and humid condition. Jammu recorded 10.8 mm rainfall today while Bhaderwah 11.5 mm. However, Katra and Trikuta hills of Mata Vaishnodevi had just 2.5 mm rainfall on Monday.
The chopper service to Mata Vaishnodevi from base camp Katra was also affected with the cloudy weather condition for several hours today.
While Jammu recorded a maximum temperature of 33.0 deg C, Leh town 31.8 deg C, Bhaderwah 29.2, Katra town 30.1 and highway town Banihal 29.7 deg C temperature on Monday.
On Sunday, Srinagar experienced its highest maximum temperature since 1997, reaching 36.2 degree Celsius. The subsequent record night temperature of 24.8 degree Celsius made conditions particularly uncomfortable for the city’s inhabitants.
Reports of light to moderate rainfall came in from various parts of the Valley.
The Meteorological Centre in Srinagar forecast rain and thundershowers for many parts of the Kashmir Division, including Gulmarg, Tangmarg, and parts of Baramulla, Doodh Pathri, Khan Sahib, and surrounding areas of Badgam. Additional areas expecting rain include Pulwama, Shopian, Qazigund, Anantnag, and parts of Srinagar and Ganderbal. Some areas may experience brief intense showers.
“The weather remained generally cloudy today with intermittent light to moderate rain and thundershowers in many parts of the Kashmir Division and most places in the Jammu Division,” the weatherman said.
“Over the next two days, the weather will continue to be generally cloudy with intermittent light to moderate rain and thundershowers in many parts of the Kashmir Division and widespread areas of the Jammu Division”.
“From August 1 to 7, the weather is expected to remain generally cloudy with intermittent light to moderate rain and thundershowers in many places in the Kashmir valley and most areas in the Jammu Division,” the weather office said.
The MeT office has issued an advisory warning that intense showers for brief periods may cause flash floods, cloudbursts, landslides, mudslides, and shooting stones in vulnerable areas of Jammu and Kashmir. There is also a possibility of heavy rainfall in a few places in the Jammu Division.
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