Srinagar: ‘Chillai Kalan’, a 40-day harshest winter period would likely end on a dry note this year as the weather department is not expecting any downpour till January ending while it also expects that the persistent dry spell could lead to power and water shortage.

Deputy Director of local Meteorological (MeT) department, Mukhtar Ahmad told ‘Kashmir Vision’ that there is no possibility of any wet spell till January ending.

“There is a prediction of continuous dry spell till Jan ending. There is possibility of cloudy weather during these days but no rains or snow would occur till the end of Chillai-Kalan,” he said.

He also informed that the temperature this winter was warmer as compared to the previous year’s chilly weather.

“Minus 6.2 was the coldest night of this season, which was recorded some weeks ago but this winter was quite warmer than previous years,” he said.

He also said that there would be no further dip in the night temperature, saying that the day temperature was 5 degree above the normal temperature.

“The current day temperature is being recorded at least 04-05 degrees above the normal level due to the bright sunshine. There may be dip in the day temperature but only on cloudy days,” he said. 

Ahmad further informed that the current dry spell could lead to water shortage to the agricultural land during the coming summer. “Due to the persistent dry spell, the agricultural land and other related lands could suffer in the summers while the electricity shortage can also be witnessed in near future,” he said.

He informed that the wet spell in the winter is very useful for the Agricultural land and as such can prove to be unfavorable for the local production here. 

Pertinently, the Valley continued to witness dry spell from last one month, affecting human health.

The experts had said that when the atmosphere dries up, the temperature goes down and a combination of this dryness in atmosphere and dip in temperatures “paralyses” the local respiratory immune system.

They said that it increases the chances of respiratory tract infections in people of all age groups, especially those suffering from ailments like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Asthma, or other immune-compromised or systemic disorders.

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