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| Prevailing dry spell, rising temperatures trouble for Jammu farmers | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 5: A creeping anxiety has taken hold among farming communities across Jammu province as the Meteorological Department warns of a sharp rise in temperatures over the coming days, compounding the distress caused by nearly two months of near-total rainfall absence that has left the region parched and its agriculture deeply vulnerable.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) on Thursday issued a forecast predicting a significant spike in daytime temperatures across Jammu and Kashmir over the next 48 hours, with atmospheric conditions turning increasingly favourable for a heat spell.
Officials at the MeT Centre in Srinagar confirmed that largely dry weather would grip the Union Territory in the days ahead, pushing mercury levels well above seasonal norms.
"The weather will remain mainly clear and dry. As a result, a gradual increase in both day and night temperatures is likely. Maximum temperatures are expected to settle appreciably above normal during this period," a MeT official said.
The forecast marks a stark reversal from the cold conditions that swept the region just last week, and arrives at a particularly precarious time for Jammu's agricultural sector.
The prolonged dry spell has stirred serious concern among cultivators who depend almost entirely on seasonal rainfall for their livelihoods. Jammu's agrarian economy is heavily rainfed — approximately 40 percent of the region's total geographical area falls under rainfed agriculture, with nearly 60 percent of all cultivated land relying on rainfall rather than irrigation infrastructure.
With Kharif crop sowing season on the horizon and soil moisture critically low after weeks without rain, farmers fear that standing and upcoming crops may be severely damaged or lost entirely if rains do not arrive soon.
"We have seen dry spells before, but this one has gone on too long," said one farmer from the outskirts of Jammu. "If it doesn't rain before we sow, there will be nothing to harvest."
The Weather Department cautioned that plains across both the Jammu division and the Kashmir Valley could experience heat wave-like conditions by the end of the week.
Authorities have responded by urging residents — particularly those in low-lying areas — to exercise caution and limit prolonged exposure to direct sunlight during peak afternoon hours.
The convergence of an extended dry spell and an impending heat surge has raised alarms beyond the farming community, with health officials, civil administrators, and weather experts all calling for public vigilance. Dry and hot conditions are expected to persist in the near term, with no significant relief in sight from rainfall.
For Jammu's farmers, many of whom have already endured a difficult winter season, the coming days represent yet another test — one where the skies, not the markets, may ultimately determine their fate. |
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