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.
• Kashmir has a continental type of climate. In summers, the climate is sub-tropical but in winters, it is Arctic type with long extreme winters and short summers.
• 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 month of March when the temperature starts rising.
• The temperature fluctuates from 12° C to 20 during daytime and falls upto 5°C during night.
• Spring is accompanied by rainfall in 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-September)
• Mid July to September are 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 and the valley with its purple bloom of saffrom flowers looks beautiful.
• The night temperature 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)
• 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.
• Dooru 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. the last den days of December and the month of January are extremely cold and experience ice-cold season."
Local Names for Seasons
Seasons Local Names
Spring Sont
Summer Retkol (Grishm)
Rainy Waharat
Autumn Harud
Winter Wandah
Ice-Cold Shishur
Climate of LADAKH
The Ladakh region is situated on the rain shadow side of the Himalayan mountains which block the monsoon clouds. It lies in the Great Himalayas. The climate of Ladakh is cold and dry, therefore, it is also called Cold Desert. It comprises only two districts, namely, Leh and Kargil.
There are three seasons in Ladakh i.e. spring, summer and winter.
Spring Season (March-April)
• Temperature fluctuates between 6°C during the daytime and -5°C during night.
• The air is chilly and temperature starts rising from April.
• Ladakh gets occasional rainfall during this season.
Summer Season (May-August)
• There is a steady rise in temperature from first week of May, which continues till August. The temperature rises upto 23°C during the day and falls to 3°C during night.
• The weather is pleasant, sky is clear and air is not chilly during the daytime. While the night time is chilly.
• Ladakh gets maximum tourists during this season. Local events and festivals are celeberated during summer season.
• July is the hottest month in Ladakh when temperature rises upto 25°C. The land gets plenty of Sunshine
Winter Season (August to November)
• Ladakh has a long winter of 8-9 months.
• The temperature starts decreasing from 23°C to around 15°C during day.
• Nights become cold and winter's chill fills the air during September October.
• In the month of November, temperature starts falling below 0°C.
Ice-Cold Season (November - February)
• These months are extremely cold. Day temperature begins to fall rapidly. Nights become extremely cold and temperature falls upto -20°C and beyond.
• January is the coldest month and records mean temperature of -14.4°C.
• There is heavy snowfall during these months. are closed and Ladakh becomes All highways inaccessible.
• All rivers and lakes get frozen during these months, Drass is the coldest place in Ladakh. It recorded the coldest temperature of -45° C in 1986.
• Due to its high altitude (3650m), the Ladakh plateau records the minimum temperature in winters in India.
Rainfall in Ladakh
• Ladakh receives very less rainfall. Leh district (in Ladakh) receives the minimum rainfall i.e. 10 cm in a year.
• This region receives its annual rainfall from Pre-Monsoon (32%), South-West Monsoon (29%), Post Monsoon (10%) and Winter Season (29%).
• July is the wettest month while November is the driest. Average annual rainfall is just about 90-100 mm.