Kashmir Temperatures Spike To 10C Above Normal Averages, Speeding Snowmelt

[hatrack]

As temperatures continue to rise all across north and central India, even Gulmarg in Kashmir has not been spared. The temperature in Gulmarg is a whopping 10 degrees above normal, causing the snow to melt much faster.

The snow here used to last till the end of June but with rising temperatures its melting rate is very high. If temperatures continue to be above normal no snow will be left here by the mid-May.

The Sunshine peak is about 16,000 feet high. Most of the year it is covered with snow and in winters the snow is 40 feet deep and the temperature is down to minus 30 degrees Celsius. Until a few years ago there was heavy snowfall even in summers. But now things seem to have changed.

This year temperatures at the peak are eight degrees above normal, 13 degrees Celsius instead of the usual four degrees. ''The dry spell during winters and now the temperatures are 10 degrees above normal. By this snow is melting quickly,'' said Peerzada Ghulam Hassan, local resident. ''Temperatures are very high this time that is why melting rate of snow is high,'' said Suhail Ahmad, Assistant manager Cable Car.

EDIT

http://www.ndtv.com/convergence/ndtv/story.aspx?id=NEWEN20070010876

[htuttle]

1. "Oh let the sun beat down upon my face, water to flood my stream"

On the other side of India, in Bangladesh, they're starting to run into as many flooding problems from excessive Himalayan glacial runoff as they are from rising oceans. I'd suspect they'll start noticing that downstream from Kashmir, too. Since that would affect much of the Indus Valley, that could be some pretty serious trouble for Pakistan.

on edit: I meant short term flooding trouble for Pakistan -- Followed by long term drought trouble, and yet another harbinger of doom for the rest of us.