Finally, snow has draped Kashmir in white. Though the upper reaches witnessed snowfall on New Year’s Eve, the plains were longing for a similar feat. The weather god seems to have heard their prayers. People living in the plains woke up to a blanket of snow on Tuesday morning. The weatherman has forecast light to moderate snowfall across the Kashmir region, with improvement expected from Tuesday evening. Temperatures in the Kashmir plains during the day are expected to rise by a few degrees. As such, dry snow will turn wet, and may even rain in some areas. Moderate to heavy intensity rain and snowfall are expected over the Chenab Valley region with improvement from late evening. Light to moderate rain and snow are also expected over the Poonch-Rajouri belt with improvement from late afternoon. However, behind the breathtaking beauty of snow lies the pain and tribulations. The Srinagar-Jammu National Highway was shut. Air traffic too was suspended because of poor visibility. Jammu and Kashmir has been witnessing rapid climate change. Even in Chillai Kalan, Kashmir is experiencing a new trend. Last week, unusually high velocity winds swept through Kashmir. The windstorm is highly unusual during this time of the season when the temperature plummets to minus five degree Celsius. People usually expect snowfall during Chillai Kalan so that the water bodies are replenished. What is more surprising is that the areas that witnessed snow drought in the last 10 years experienced snowfall this time round. In fact, the impact of climate change is more severe than imagined. The UT is warming at a higher rate than the world average. The average temperature of Jammu and Kashmir has increased by 1.2 degree centigrade in the last 100 years. During the same period, the average temperature of the Earth increased by 0.8 to 0.9-degree centigrade. Falling in the Himalayan region, Jammu and Kashmir has a geographic area of 101387 square kilometers. It excludes the 120849 square kilometer area, which is under the occupation of Pakistan and China. Around 20230 square kilometers, which comprises 19.95 percent of the total geographical area of Jammu and Kashmir, is under forest cover. The higher regions are covered by Pir Panjal, Karakoram, and the inner Himalayan ranges of mountains. Climate change has affected every aspect of life. The rapid depletion of natural resources and degradation of our ecology are posing a major challenge. We need to wake up to the unusual weather patterns. The government needs to pull up its socks and take steps to counter climate change. We need to increase tree cover. The government needs to restrict the movement on fragile glaciers and high-altitude lakes. It is high time policymakers, environmentalists, weather experts, and common people sense the crisis and take steps to save Mother Earth.
Welcome snowfall
