Climate of Jammu & Kashmir

The climate of the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is highly influenced by their locations in the mountainous terrains. Each of these places have a distinct temperature and rainfall pattern.

Climatic Zones

Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are broadly divided into three climatic zones. These zones represent the overall climate of the regions depending upon their location, rainfall distribution and mean temperature. They are

🟫The Sub-Tropical Climate Region of Jammu

🟫The Temperate Kashmir Valley

🟫The Cold Mountainous Area of Ladakh

Climate of Jammu

The area of Jammu is situated in the sub-tropical region. It comprises of Doda, Kathua, Ramban, Reasi, Kishtwar, Poonch, Rajouri, Udhampur and Samba districts.

🔆Its climate is highly influenced by the Pir Panjal and Shivalik ranges. The southern part (plains) have a monsoon type of climate i.e., hot summers and cool winters. The mountainous areas of Jammu are influenced by the climate of Kashmir valley.

🔆Jammu experiences mainly three seasons i.c. summer season, rainy season and winter season.

🔆Summer Season (March-Mid June) •

Summer season begins from March onwards Temperature rises abruptly in May and June and range between 38°C to 45°C. Hot dry winds called 'loo' blow in the lowlands of Jammu. Dust storms also occur during April in Jammu. The night temperature varies between 20°C to 30°C. The region experiences hot summers.Southern Jammu records maximum temperature.

➡️There is light drizzles of rain in this season.

Rainy Season (Mid June-Mid September)

⭕Rainy season or monsoon starts from middle of June in Jammu and continues till Mid September.

♻️Average rainfall in this season is 65 cm and

average temperature ranges between 30-35°C Humidity is high in this season and the weather is quite oppressive. .

〽️Reasi district in Jammu receives maximum rainfall (132 cm) in an year.

🔰The total annual rainfall of Jammu region is about 136 cm

#️⃣The South-West part of Jammu receives

rainfall mostly from South-West monsoon. .

🅾️The North and North-East parts of Jammu receive rainfall from Western disturbances. rising. The temperature fluctuates from 12° C to 20°C

Winter Season (October-February)

⛔From October to February, Jammu experiences cold winters. Temperature dips rapidly during night upto 2-3°C. Days are cool and chilly wind blows.

⛔Mist and fog are also common. January is the coldest month in winter season of this region. The mean minimum temperature of the region as a whole remains 3°C in January.

⛔But in this month, the mean minimum temperature varies from -1.9°C in the Northern high altitudinal areas to 7.8°C in the Southern plains of Jammu.

⛔Due to the Western disturbances, Jammu gets rainfall in winters. This is good for the cultivation of wheat crop in Jammu.

⛔ Jammu also experiences a short spring season from the end of February to Mid-March. The Rainy Season (Mid July-September) temperature rises during spring season.

Climate of Kashmir

☢ The valley of Kashmir lies between Pir Panjal range and Western end of the Great Himalayan ranges. This region comprises of Anantnag, Budgam,

Bandipora, Kulgam, Shopian, Pulwama,

Srinagar, Ganderbal, Baramulla and Kupwara districts of the UT

☢The valley of Kashmir experiences five seasons namely spring, summer, rainy, autumn and winter.

Spring Season (March-May)

☣The spring season in Kashmir starts from the month of March when the temperature starts rising

☢The temperature fluctuates from 12°C to 20 °C during daytime and falls upto 5°C during night.

☢Spring is accompanied by rainfall in Kashmir, which is about 110 mm in March-April. •

☢The valley receives maximum rains in this season which are caused by the Western disturbances.

Summer Season (Mid May-Mid July)

🚫The summer season starts in Kashmir from

Mid-May.

🚫During daytime, the temperature reaches upto 30°C and falls to 10°C during night.

🚫This variation in day and night temperatures provides a pleasant and clear climate in the valley.

🚫This season attracts lot of tourists in the valley. July is the hottest month of this season when daytime temperature reaches upto 37°C.

Rainy Season Mid (July to September )

Mid July to Septemberare the rainy months. ☮Average temperature fluctuates between 12°C to 27°C.

☮The valley receives moderate rainfall.

☮The total annual rainfall received by Kashmir is about 86 cm. .

☮The humidity is high in this season.

Autumn Season (Mid September-October)

☯️The temperature falls gradually in this season and the sky is clear. There are minimum weather disturbances.

☯️ . It is the season of saffron flowering with its purple bloom of saffrom flowers looks beautiful.

☮The night is upto 5°C and days remain warm upto 20°C.

☯️In this season, people are busy in saffron cultivation, harvesting crops of rice, apple and almonds and collecting firewood for upcoming winters.

☯️This season also marks the celebration of festivals and important occasions like marriage, etc. Winter Season (November-February)

Winter Season(November-February )

⚫ The temperature begins to fall from November which starts the winter season in Kashmir.

🚫The winters are long and severe in Kashmir.

🚫The mean temperature is 5°C in the valley. Daytime temperature ranges from 8°C to 15°C.

🚫Nights are very cold and ranges from 0 to -2°C. The region receives heavy snowfall during this season, maximum in January.

🚫Average snowfall is about 120 cm. It is mainly due to Western disturbances, which are temperate cyclones originating from Mediterranean sea.

🚫 Doru in South Kashmir and North Kashmir regions receives maximum snowfall in the winter season.

🚫The relative humidity in winters is about 90% and Sunshine is low during this season. January is the coldest month and is known as the Period of Chilla-Kalan.

🚫 Around 40 days of Chilla-Kalan i.e. in the month of January are extremely cold and experience ice-cold season.

Seasons Local Name