Climate of: Jammu & Kashmir
Minimum Temperature: -40°C (Ladakh
Region)
Maximum Temperature: 40°C (Jammu
Region)
Climate is
the one basic factor, which makes the state of J&K hard to resist
for tourists. While winter is not exactly a suitable time to visit
the Ladakh region, but for trekkers and adventurers May to September
are blissful months, opening numerous trekking opportunities to
explore this remote region. Jammu, the winter capital of the state
is at its best after October, just like Kashmir is an ideal
destination for summers. Anyway sports enthusiasts will get plenty
of options to try out their favorites winter sport activity here.
Situated at
a height of only 300 metres, Jammu has the three-season weather
typical of the Indian plains. The best time of year in Jammu is
the cool season from early October to about February-March. In
October, immediately after the monsoon finishes, the weather will
be cool and fresh, the skies clear and dust free. Later in the
cool season, December and January in particular, it can get quite
crisp with temperatures as low as 50 C at night.
In
February-March the temperature starts to climb as you enter the
hot season. By April, May and June it gets uncomfortably hot and
dry. Since there has been no rain for some time the air is very
dusty and the temperature scarcely seems to drop at night. Towards
the end of the hot season the mercury sill sit at 400 C or above
for days on end. Finally, the monsoon arrives around the beginning
of July; the dust is immediately cleared out of the air although
for some time the temperature change is merely from hot and dry to
hot and sticky.
Kashmir
At an
altitude of over 1,000 metres the Kashmir Valley is much cooler
than Jammu and it is at its best in the months of May-June for
visiting to get a respite from the hot, airless plains. At this
time the daily temperatures are around 200 C, a delightfully cool
contrast to the 400 C temperatures common on the plains to the
south. In July and August it can get rather hotter and the valley
somewhat humid and still - the simple solution is to move out to
one of the smaller resorts that lie around the valley rim. At
places like
Pahalgam,
Gulmarg and
Sonamarg the altitude ensures cooler weather even in mid
summer.
The Kashmir tourist season ends in October as minimum temperatures
drop down below 100 C and from November to February night time
temperatures often fall below freezing in Srinagar , snow falls
and during cold years
Dal Lake can actually freeze over. In the winter Gulmarg
becomes India's number one ski resort. The spring thaw begins in
February-March. Rainfall in Kashmir is fairly even year round. The
mountains protect Kashmir from the worst of the monsoon.
Winter at
the high altitudes of Ladakh and Zanskar can be spectacularly cold
although snowfall is generally not heavy since the Himalayas act
as a barrier to rain clouds coming up from the south. Parts of
Ladakh may have no recordable rainfall for years, yet in others
there may be deep and persistent snow. Temperatures are
consistently below freezing for six months of the year in Leh and
the snowbound pass into Kashmir isolates Ladakh from October to
June.
Weather Of the Cold Desert
Drass is reputed to be one of the coldest places in Asia during
the winter. The Zanskaris bring their sheep, cattleand goats into
the house in winter. The Zanskaris bring their sheep, cattle and
goats into the house in winter and from December to March they
themselves retreat into the central room of the house and wait for
spring. The Zanskar river usually disappears under ice and snow
along much of its length. The Ladakhis too stay much of the winter
indoors.
In summer the any time temperatures are pleasantly warm with
maximums around 200 C to 250 C, but nighttime temperatures are
always crisp. Even at the height of summer the temperature will
immediately plummet when a cloud obscures the sun. One should
always have a sweater handy in Ladakh. Beware of the power of the
sun at this altitude; one will quickly get a bad case of sunburn
even on a cool day.
Click
here for Hotels and Restaurants in Jammu and Kashmir
LADAKH
TOUR PACKAGES
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LADAKH
PANORAMA TREKS(Durations
8Nights/9Days)
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TSOMORIRI
LAKE TREKS(Durations
7Nights/8Days)
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LADAKH
MONASTERY TREKS(Durations
15Nights/16Days)
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CLASSIC
MARKHA VALLEY TREKS(Durations
16Nights/17Days)
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MANALI TO
LADAKH TREKS (Durations
22Nights/23Days)
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