Heavy Rains Over Jammu-Kashmir And Himachal Pradesh: No Respite Likely
Heavy to very heavy rains have lashed the hilly states of Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. The lower and mid reaches have been battered for the third successive day. Jammu, Udhampur, Katra, Kathua, Bhaderwah, and Batote have received heavy downpours. Jammu recorded 81 mm and Bhaderwah 100 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. In Himachal Pradesh, Dharamshala, Dalhousie, Kangra, Kullu, Manali, and Mandi witnessed torrential rains. Dharamshala and Manali were deluged with over 100 mm of rainfall in the past 24 hours. The rainstorms are likely to continue through the week, with a slight let-up briefly tomorrow.
Multiple factors have joined hands to escalate the weather activity. A cyclonic circulation persists over North Rajasthan and the foothills of Punjab and Haryana. A western disturbance is moving across the mountains as an upper-air system. The interaction between these two is further fueled by the active monsoon trough running through the northern plains. Non-stop rains in the hills have flooded the water bodies. Rivers and streams in Jammu & Kashmir, and dams and water reservoirs in the plains, are overflowing. The release of surplus water from Ranjit Sagar and Bhakra Nangal Dams, unprecedented since 2007, has endangered downstream riparian cities and villages.
The western disturbance is likely to clear the hills in the next 24 hours, thereby providing marginal relief from the incessant rainfall activity. However, water bodies in the treacherous terrain remain deceptive and continue to respond even after the tapering of weather activity. The relief is not expected to last long. A low-pressure area marked over the Northwest Bay of Bengal is likely to intensify and move inland across Coastal Odisha after about 48 hours. The easterly stream along the Indo-Gangetic plains will strengthen, and the monsoon trough will get activated again. Meanwhile, another western disturbance is expected to approach the northern mountains. The amalgamation of all these factors will once again raise the risk of inclement weather. To start with, Jammu Division and Himachal Pradesh will be more vulnerable. The heavy and high-impact weather activity will extend to Uttarakhand at the fag end of August and the start of September, with damaging conditions unsparing most parts of the state till 3rd September.
