The Meteorological Department issued a forecast for rain and snow for Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday, advising farmers to put off harvesting their crops.
Especially in Kashmir, the Pir Panjal area, Sonmarg, and Zojila on Friday, “light to moderate rain and snowfall over the higher reaches is very likely to commence towards late evening and night at many places of north Kashmir,” according to MeT authorities.
They said that on Friday, September 29, it is quite expected that several locations in Kashmir and remote areas of the Jammu region could see rain and snowfall over higher altitudes.
The MeT experts predicted that starting on Saturday, the weather will mostly be dry for around five days. Although the likelihood is low, a short period of rain and snowfall at higher ranges in remote locations cannot be completely ruled out.
Overall, they said, there was no significant rain or snowfall predicted for the next week.
A warning advising farmers to delay crop harvesting on Friday was issued in the meanwhile.
The weather in Kashmir was cooled this week by showers, while a thin dusting of snow fell in the higher elevations.
The highest levels of Gulmarg and north Kashmir had their first snowfall of the season as a result of deficient rainfall in August and September, which caused a dip in daytime temperatures.
The preceding two months had been very dry and hot in Kashmir, causing water levels in the River Jhelum and other bodies of water to plummet. This had an impact on agriculture in general and apple harvests in particular.
In January, February, and March, J&K suffered deficits in rainfall and snowfall. May and June saw precipitation that was slightly below average.
Despite excessive rainfall in Jammu and Kashmir in July, there were no significant downpours in August or September.
