La Nina breathes early freeze into Kashmir winter

Srinagar, Nov 28: La Nina conditions and the persistent dry spell have led to a severe dip in temperatures in Kashmir.

Most districts recorded sub-zero temperatures, while entire northern India has begun to record signs of its influence over the past week.

Air pollution is an aggravating factor of chill, meteorologists believe.

La Nina is the cold phase of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle and is known for cooler-than-usual sea surface temperatures in the south and central equatorial pacific.

It influences weather patterns globally and in India.

La Nina’s winter season is expected to be more pronounced with the La Nina onset.

Recent weather data from across the northern parts of India shows delayed (than expected) intensifying cold spells.

Polar Jet stream intensification, which La Nina is known to cause, is plummeting the mercury further than is expected around this time of the year, weather experts believe.

In Kashmir, Srinagar and many other places have had the minimum temperatures dropping around minus 5 degrees Celsius, significantly below the seasonal norm.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Director Meteorology, J&K, Mukhtar Ahmad, said the intense cold spell could be influenced by La Nina conditions solidifying in the northern region.

He said pollution in the central parts of Kashmir had also led to a significant drop in temperatures.

“We have seen that the weather stations away from central Kashmir have been recording more stable temperatures. In Srinagar and other central parts, where pollution is very high, there is a significant haze and smog, which makes sunlight difficult to reach the ground,” Ahmad said.

He said that the clear sky was also creating conditions of a deep freeze.

Ahmad said La Nina and freeze do not have a one-on-one linkage, but many factors together, including La Nina could cause a severe winter in J&K and northern India.

President of Meteorology and Climate Change at Skymet, G P Sharma, has said that La Nina conditions, which usually last upto a year, could be shorter in duration this year.

Skymet is India’s largest private weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and risk management company.

Regarding the severity of winters, Sharma said, “I should be on the shallow side due to a shallow La Nina. So it may not impact the severity of winters and rainfall so far, both put together in the month of January.”

Speaking to the media, he has said that he does not see any large impact of this La Nina event on the Indian weather conditions.

“As such, La Nina comes up in the winter months. The peak of the post-monsoon season is already over now. Yes, three to four weeks of December will be there, but by the time mid-December comes, that season also, the impact of La Nina starts losing its steam. So, practically what I say is, I do not see any large impact of La Nina as far as south peninsular rains are concerned,” Sharma said.