Srinagar, March 5 Kashmir is experiencing unusual heatwave conditions, with daytime temperatures remaining several degrees above normal on Thursday, and the water level in the Jhelum River hitting a historic low, officials said.
Maximum temperatures across the Valley remained 10.8 to 13.7 degrees above the seasonal average, they said.
Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, recorded a maximum temperature of 24.7 degrees Celsius, 11.7 degrees above normal.
The famous Gulmarg ski resort in north Kashmir's Baramulla district recorded a high of 17.2 degrees Celsius, 13.7 degrees above normal.
According to independent weather forecaster Faizan Arif, this is the first time the resort has recorded a maximum temperature of 17.2 degrees in the first week of March.
The current temperatures are comparable to the climatological averages that Gulmarg usually records in late May, he said.
Similarly, the maximum temperature in Qazigund was 24.6 degrees Celsius, 12 degrees above normal. Pahalgam at 20.8 degrees Celsius was 10.8 degrees above the seasonal average. Kupwara and Kokernag recorded 11.2 and 11.9 degrees above the normal, officials said.
Winter in Kashmir was unusually warm this year, with only a few spells of snowfall.
Jammu and Kashmir witnessed its seventh consecutive winter with deficient rainfall, with a massive 65 per cent deviation from normal.
During the core winter period from December to February, the region received only 100.6 mm of rain against the normal of 284.9 mm.
Due to the low precipitation, water levels were low in several of the Valley's water bodies.
Arif said the Jhelum River was flowing at its historic low.
The water level of the Jhelum at Sangam was 0.86 feet at 9 am on Thursday, indicating that the river is flowing below the zero gauge level.
He said the low water level in the Jhelum in the first week of March is a serious concern.
The independent forecaster said February witnessed unusually warm conditions, with temperatures hovering more than 10 degrees above normal on several occasions.
"During the early phase of this warmth, the water level in the Jhelum did increase slightly by a couple of feet, but the rise remained short-lived and limited. Historically, when such warm spells affected Kashmir during winter or early spring, the water level in the Jhelum would rise by 5-8 feet, reflecting strong snowmelt from surrounding mountains," he said.
However, this year the response remained very weak.
The drop in the river's water level in early March clearly indicates that winter precipitation and snow accumulation were extremely low this year, leaving very little snowpack available to sustain meltwater discharge, Arif said.
This situation could become a concern for paddy cultivation if conditions do not improve in the coming weeks, he asserted.
In the Kashmir Valley, he said, paddy nursery preparation usually begins in April and May, when farmers rely heavily on water from rivers, streams and irrigation canals fed by snowmelt. Limited water availability during this period could affect nursery preparation and early sowing stages, he explained.
For now, the unusually low water levels should be seen as an early indicator that the hydrological situation this year is not very encouraging so far. If precipitation improves in the coming weeks, the situation may still recover to some extent, Arif added.