Srinagar, June 20 (IANS) Unprecedented heat wave has gripped Kashmir as temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius have prevailed for the past few days.

Srinagar city recorded 35.2 degrees Celsius as the maximum temperature on Thursday, the highest June temperature ever during the last two decades. Jammu city recorded 36.5 as the maximum, bringing down the gap between the maximum temperatures in Jammu and Srinagar cities to just 1.3 degrees Celsius.

An unprecedented heat wave has caused a sharp drop in the water level of the Jhelum River, which is the main water body of the Valley starting from Verinag Spring in Anantnag district and passing over to Pakistan occupied Kashmir (PoK) through the Uri town of Baramulla district.

Since perennial water reservoirs in the mountains, which sustain the Valley during the hot summer months, have already been depleted because of lesser snowfall in winter, water level in mountain streams, springs, rivers, lakes and wells has also alarmingly fallen.

Farmers in the highlands of Ganderbal, Srinagar, Budgam, Bandipora, Kupwara, Baramulla, Shopian, Kulgam and Anantnag districts are already crying over water shortages for their Paddy fields and apple orchards.

Paddy fields in some of the higher areas have started getting adversely hit by less irrigation water.

The Paddy plant needs plenty of water till the ears fill, and it is only during the ripening of the grain and the onset of harvest that farmers can afford to have their fields dry.

Apple fruit trees also need frequent irrigation during the fruit-bearing season for succulent and colourful apples. Apples hit by water shortages are less succulent, not sufficiently colourful and with much shorter shelf lives.

Things had started showing up during April and May when occasional rainfall made good the lesser discharge of water in various feeding rivers, streams, lakes, springs and wells of the Valley.

The Meteorological (MeT) department, however, had some good news for the people on Friday. A MeT office forecast said, “Weather is likely to remain mainly dry in Kashmir division with isolated light rain in Jammu division during the next 24 hours. During the subsequent 2 days, scattered to fairly widespread light rain is likely to occur in J&K.”

The school education department has announced a summer break of 10 days from July 1.

–IANS

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