Snow up to several feet deep descended on most of the valley of Kashmir in the first two weeks of March, whipping up blizzards and triggering avalanches on the steeper mountain slopes. With at least 17 deaths reported, around 2,000 homes damaged, roads blocked and electricity disrupted in many parts of the state, authorities struggled to rescue people in snowbound areas and restore essential services, as reported by The Third Pole.

The damage to agricultural and horticultural property has yet to be reckoned, said officials, and could run into tens of crores of rupees. The airport in the Jammu and Kashmir summer capital Srinagar had to be closed and highways were blocked. The Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir receives 30% of its annual rainfall in the winter. The average rainfall, calculated over the winters of 1951 to 2000, is 183 millimetres (mm). This year, the Indian Meteorological Department forecast that Jammu and Kashmir would see below average rainfall for the months of January through March. And then, between March 1-12, the state received 122 mm of rain, far higher than the normal 56 mm.

Several studies indicate that most parts of the Himalayas are getting warmer at a rate faster than the average warming of the earth. Patterns of rain and snow vary throughout the mountains as weather is controlled by dramatic changes in topography and the presence of distinct microclimates in many parts.

A meteorological department official in Srinagar added that the pattern of rainfall and snowfall was erratic while insufficient precipitation also leaves farmers and others worried. Farmers from southern parts of Kashmir reported that more than 80% of almond crop this year had suffered heavy losses due to the damage caused to almond blossoms. Apple growers in the apple rich belts of Shopian and Sopore said that thousands of apple trees had crumbled under the heavy snow, thus ending any hopes of a good crop. “Around 15% of the apple trees have suffered damage due to the heavy snowfall,” Amin Mir, president of the Kashmir Fruit Growers’ Association, told thethirdpole.net.