Rains lash parts of J&K as three-day wet spell begins

Parts of Jammu and Kashmir including Srinagar received rainfall on Monday morning after India Meteorological Department (IMD) predicted ‘generally cloudy sky with moderate rain’ for the city today.

According to the IMD, recent satellite imagery shows intense or very intense convection over parts of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, West Uttar Pradesh, Haryana Chandigarh, and Delhi, northwest Madhya Pradesh, northeast Rajasthan, north Konkan and Bihar.

“Including sub-Himalayan West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura and neighbouring areas. It leads to the possibility of moderate to intense spell(s) of rainfall along with Thunderstorms and lightning during the next 2-3 hours,” the IMD said in a tweet early on Monday morning.

The local meteorological department has already predicted heavy rains in Jammu and Kashmir from July 19 to 21 shooting an advisory to Divisional Commissioners of Kashmir and Jammu divisions.  

“Lower and Middle level tropospheric winds from north Arabian sea is most likely to interact with Easterly Winds (from Bay of Bengal) from 18th to 21st July. The system is most likely to cause widespread heavy to very heavy rain, thunder with lightning at most places of Jammu mainly in Pirpanjal Range and plains of Jammu division from 19th to 21st and Moderate to Heavy Rain with lightning in many places of Kashmir division during the said period,” the MeT advisory reads.  

The MeT warned of moderate to high risk of flash floods in J&K and temporary disruption of surface traffic mainly on Jammu-Srinagar, Srinagar-Leh, Doda-Kishtawar, Mughal Road from 19th to 21st July 2021.

“Landslides and shooting stones at vulnerable places besides water logging and minor floods over low lying areas,” the advisory read.

It also said the change in weather will impact agricultural and horticultural operations during the mentioned period.