As Chilai-Kalan, the harshest winter period of 40-days, ended on Sunday, Meteorological Department ( MeT) has forecast a wet spell during Monday – Tuesday and again on Friday.
The Chilai-Kalan begins on December 21 and culminates at the end of January . The period of Chilai-Kalan is followed by Chilai-Khurd, 20 days of less harsher weather and then 10 days of mild cold called Chille Bache.
This Chilai-Kalan, a total number of 12 Western Disturbances affected Jammu and Kashmir, out of which only 3 were able to give a good amount of rain and snow. Western Disturbance is a phenomenon that brings a change in weather.
The two major spells of inclement weather were witnessed in the first ten days of January, while the third one was around January 21-23.
The period ended with excess rainfall in the Union Territory with major contribution coming from the Jammu region.
Lowest temperature in Srinagar dropped to minus 6 degrees Celsius on the intervening night of December 17-18 , 2021, four days before the beginning of Chilai-Kalan. The lowest temperature registered in Chilai-Kalan was minus 4.5 degrees Celsius recorded during the intervening night of January 14-15.
On January 28, minimum temperatures dropped to minus 11.8 degrees Celsius in Pahalgam. In Gulmarg, a minimum temperature of minus 11.5 degrees Celsius was recorded on January 12.
However, compared to last year’s Chilai-Kalan, temperatures were not harsh this season. Srinagar had recorded a minimum temperature of minus 7.7 degrees Celsius on January 29, 2021 while the lowest was recorded at minus 8.8 degrees Celsius on the first day of Chilai-Khurd.
Minimum temperatures of minus 12.5 and minus 13.5 degrees Celsius were recorded in Pahalgam and Gulmarg on January 30 and January 28 respectively last winter. Meanwhile, the Meteorological Department has forecast “light rain/snow on 31st January -1st Feb at scattered places and 3rd February.”
“Overall, the weather is likely to remain partly to generally cloudy next week starting tomorrow. There’s no forecast of any major weather (activity) till 1st week of Feb,” read the MeT forecast.