Inclement Weather Batters Jammu-Kashmir, Conditions To Improve
Apr 21, 2025, 1:15 PM | Skymet Weather Team
Landslide in Jammu & Kashmir | Photo Courtesy: Kashmir Observer
Kashmir Valley has been lashed with heavy rains over the past 48 hours. Several parts of the Union Territory were hammered by torrential rains, high-velocity winds, lightning and hailstorms on last Saturday and Sunday. Cloudbursts triggered landslides in Jammu & Kashmir’s Ramban district on Sunday, killing three people, blocking the Jammu-Srinagar national highway at several points and disrupting water and power supply. Rain and hailstorms have caused extensive damage to the standing crops and horticultural produce in the Pir Panjal and Chenab Valley regions of the Jammu Division. The landslides have buried a large number of vehicles under the debris that rolled over to the roads and slopes.
The rescue teams in Ramban have shifted more than 500 people to safe shelters. As a precautionary measure, all schools have been closed in the valley on Monday. Rains and hailstorms lashed some parts of Himachal Pradesh also, but no major loss or damage has been reported so far.
Adverse weather conditions were anticipated for the hilly states of North India and more so, for Jammu & Kashmir. An alert and caution were sounded with sufficient notice to be in a state of readiness for relief and rescue. Fresh rains and a hailstorm in Shimla have brought a pleasant twist in the weather conditions. However, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnaur & the higher reaches of Kullu and the Rohtang region had fresh snowfall & hailstorms, which damaged the crops.
An active western disturbance has been moving across the northern mountains. Peak weather activity is over now. Weather conditions are expected to improve. The lower hills, like Srinagar and Shimla, have observed better weather conditions. Caution needs to be exercised during the next 24 hours for two reasons:
First, the western disturbance is still in its last leg over Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Secondly, the water bodies in the mountains keep responding, even after the weather conditions turn better.
It is advisable to observe all precautions today and tomorrow. After the heavy rainfall, snowfall and hailstorm activity, the slopes become soft and heavy. The threat of landslides, mudslides, rolling stones and even drifting snow in the mid and higher reaches remains a danger. Broad clearance in the weather conditions is expected from 23rd April onwards across the region.
