January continues to be ¡°white¡± in the hills of north India as the month¡¯s fifth spell of snow hit the region from Friday. Heavy to very heavy snowfall is expected across J&K and Himachal Pradesh on Monday and Tuesday, with Uttarakhand also in line to get wet weather.
After barely a day¡¯s break, yet another spell of moderate snow is likely to lash the region from January 24 to 26, brightening the prospects of a snowy vacation for Republic Day holidayers headed to the hill stations of Uttarakhand, and, particularly Himachal Pradesh.
AFP
¡°We have issued a red alert in J&K from Saturday till Tuesday, and in Himachal Pradesh for Monday and Tuesday, as very heavy snow/ rain is expected in parts of the region. For Uttarakhand, a lower level alert has been issued for heavy snowfall on Monday and Tuesday,¡± said B P Yadav, head of IMD¡¯s regional meteorological centre.
With at least six active western disturbances, against a normal of four-five, snowfall this January is set to be the highest in the past several years. The difference between this season¡¯s snowfall and what was seen last January which was a particularly dry month ¡ª is clearly captured in Nasa¡¯s satellite images.
AFP
Good snowfall is crucial for water availability insummer months, across north India. ¡°This is the best snowfall we have had in Uttarakhand in at least the last three years. Snow is the main source of water in the Himalayan rivers that feed the northern plains. If we get two-three more snow spells of in February and March, water discharge in the rivers will remain relatively high till peak summer,¡± said D P Dobhal, glaciologist at the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology in Dehradun.
PTI
Uttarakhand¡¯s lone snow gauge at Mukteshwar has only recorded trace snowfall this month (on January 6), indicating that the lower hills in the state haven¡¯t received much snow yet. However, the higher reaches are covered in white, including the Badrinath and Kedarnath shrines. ¡°In Munsiyari in Pithoragarh district, we have had around five spells of snow so far this winter, which is around normal,¡± said mountaineer Mallika Virde, who lives in Sarmoli village, near Munsiyari.
Srinagar has already received 54cm of snow, very close to the entire month¡¯s normal of 57cm. ¡°We expect above normal snowfall this winter,¡± said Sonam Lotus, chief of Srinagar Met department.
AFP
Himachal too is in line for record snowfall. Kothi in Kullu district has received 110cm of snow this month, nearly 15 times more than what it got last January (7.5cm). ¡°Temperatures have been quite low this month. This, coupled with frequent western disturbances, has brought heavy snow in many districts of Himachal,¡± said Manmohan Singh, head of the regional met department at Shimla.
Shimla has received 8.5cm of snow so far this month, surpassing last January¡¯s 5cm, with more expected in the next few days.