Srinagar: Is Jammu and Kashmir headed for a drought this summer? With January and February 2025 receiving negligible precipitation, water bodies have dried up, and forest fires have been rampant. Not only this, the Government of Jammu and Kashmir had to postpone the Khelo India Winter Games due to insufficient snow in the Ski Resort Gulmarg.

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It seems global warming is impacting the weather patterns of Jammu and Kashmir drastically. With January 2025 witnessing one of the driest ‘Chillai Kalan’ periods in many decades, the water bodies across the Kashmir division are drying up, sounding an alarm for the summer ahead.

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One of the most famous water springs in South Kashmir at the Achabal Mughal Garden has dried up completely. The locals claim that the Achabal water spring has dried up for the first time in history. The Achabal spring is a source of water for the locals in the area, besides being a lifeline for the trout fish farmers.

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“It is for the first time in the history of Achabal that this water spring has dried up. Our ancestors never mentioned the drying up of this spring. It seems to be due to climate change, there are no rains or snow. In the last two months, we have not seen any snow here. The water from this spring goes to 15 villages, and now they have no drinking water at the moment. Horticulture and agriculture are also dependent on this,” said Shabir Ahmad, a local of Achabal.

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The weather experts in Jammu and Kashmir are worried that the coming summer might witness a drought-like situation in the Valley. With the main source of water, River Jhelum, flowing at its lowest and the valley witnessing a dip of 80-90 per cent in precipitation, there is worry that the summers will be difficult for everyone, including the people associated with agriculture and horticulture.

“Jammu and Kashmir saw a huge precipitation deficit in December, and it continued in January and February as well. There has been almost nil precipitation, due to which the Jhelum is flowing at its lowest level. And if we talk about other water bodies, even the Achabal water spring has dried up. If this trend continues, it may negatively impact horticulture and agriculture,” said Faizan Arif, a weather analyst and forecaster.

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This year, Jammu and Kashmir has also witnessed rampant forest fires across the region, from North Kashmir’s Baramulla and Bandipora to Rajouri and Poonch in the Jammu division. On Monday morning, there was a forest fire in the Bandipora district, and experts say it was mostly due to the dry weather during the winters. In the last two weeks, around 50 incidents of forest fires have been reported across the region.

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“Forest fires have continuously increased, be it in Kupwara, Bandipora, or Srinagar, forest fire incidents have increased. In the last 15 days, there have been more than 50 forest fires. Besides, there have been numerous incidents of forest fires in the Zabarwan hills of Srinagar. This is not very common for winters as it’s the time when we see a lot of rain and snow, but this year the scenario has been completely different and we are seeing a long dry spell. Even a small spark can turn into a forest fire at this time,” said Faizan Arif, a weather analyst and forecaster.

Winter Games postponed due to insufficient snow

The government of Jammu and Kashmir has also postponed the 5th edition of the Khelo India Winter Games, initially set for February 22-25, 2025.The government says that ski resort Gulmarg has insufficient snow to hold the games. The authorities will undertake a new assessment if the snow conditions improve, and the revised update will be announced accordingly.