Rainfall in the Himalayas
It's Monsoon season again and many people Plan visiting the Mountains during the Rainy Season. It might not be the ideal Season to go to the Mountains due to all the Landslides and Floods but Rains in the Mountains have their own charm.
But as the Weather Readings below will testify the Monsoon is not consistent over the Himalayas. Different areas in the Himalayas get different amounts of Rainfall during the Monsoons. And the Monsoons are not the only Rainy Season in the Western Himalayas. There is another Rainy Season which arrives in December and it comes in the form of what we call Western Disturbances which are Rain bearing Clouds rising above the Mediterranean and making its way to the Western Himalayas.
Of course the Eastern parts of the Himalayas get a great amount of Rainfall once the Monsoon arrives. This Rainfall comes from the Bay of Bengal branch of the Monsoons and the Rains travel upcountry along the Great Himalayan Range and move into the Central and Western part of the Himalayas. At the same Rain also arrives from the Arabian Sea branch of the Monsoons and this also makes its way up towards the Western and Central Himalayas. Most of you must be aware that most of the Monsoon Clouds don't make it over the Himalayas hence the Trans Himalayas is a Desert Region.
As a result of the Rains and the Mountains meeting, the interplay causes some interesting Weather conditions in different parts of the Himalayas. Ladakh being in the Trans Himalayan zone hardly gets any Rain. The Kashmir Valley also gets moderate Rainfall as the Pir Panjals stop the Monsoon Clouds from going over. Infact the Kashmir Valley gets more Rainfall from the Western Disturbances than during the Monsoon. The wettest Months in the Kashmir Valley are March, April and May. And though it does Rain during the Monsoons its nowhere near the amount of Rain that falls on the other side of the Pir Panjals facing the Northern Plains. Kashmir and Ladakh both are good choices if you want to travel to the Mountains in the Monsoons.
Then we have places like Dalhousie which lie close to the Himachal border with J&K. Dalhousie gets a lot a Rainfall (at 2311 mm) as it stands right above the Plains but the Wettest place in the Western Himalayas would be Dharamshala in the Kangra Valley. It gets a huge amount of Rain during the Monsoons and at the same time it gets Rain from the Western Disturbances (at 2755 mm) . Putting this into perspective Dharamshala on an Average gets more Rainfall in July (at 765 mm) than Srinagar, Kashmir gets throughout the Year (at 721 mm). Interestingly both are at similar Altitudes. Dharamshala infact gets more Rainfall than Darjeeling which is located in the Eastern side of the Himalayas.. Shimla also gets good Rainfall but the Rains are not that Heavy comparatively in Manali and the Kulu Valley.
Moving Eastwards both Mussoorie and Nainital get a lot of Rainfall. Infact Nainital is also one of the Wettest places in the Himalayas and it is the Wettest in the State of Uttarakhand. Of course it goes without saying that the surrounding areas also get a lot of Rainfall. Nainital and Mussoorie also get Rainfall due to the Western Disturbance though not as much as Dalhousie or Dharamshala. And moving even Eastwards we move to Darjeeling which again gets a lot of Rain but thats a feature in the Eastern Himalayas as North East India gets some of the heaviest Rainfall on the Planet. But again the Western disturbance has no effect on Darjeeling and the same is reflected in the Rainfall figures for the Winter Months.
So when you plan a Holiday to the Mountains in the Rainy Season be aware of the variations in the Rainfall patterns across the Himalayas and Plan accordingly.
And here is a comparison of the the Temperatures that prevail in these different Himalayan locations for the sake of comparison. Of course Drass is the most Coldest inhabited Town in India. And Leh is also quite Cold. These are Trans Himalayan Regions and due to the High Elevation and proximity to Glaciers in the case of Drass make it so cold.
After the Trans Himalayan Regions the Coldest places are in Kashmir with Gulmarg being the Coldest and famous as a Ski Resort as it gets a large Amount of its precipitation as Rainfall.
Leh which is the main Town / HQ of the UT of Ladakh has a Cold Climate with severely Cold Winters, a Warmish Summer and due to to paucity of Rains in this Trans Himalayan its classified as a Cold Desert with precipitation per Annum just over a 100 mm. The Wettest Months are July and August when a few Clouds manage to cross the Great Himalayan Range into this Arid Highland. But in these Months also it just experiences around 15 mm of Rain. Do go through our Ladakh Travel Guide if planning a Trip to Ladakh.
Drass is the Coldest place in India. Well the Coldest inhabited Town at least. It located just beyond the Great Himalayan Range and in proximity of a large number of permanently Glaciated areas amongst other factors. Temperatures dip to close to almost minus 50 Degree C in the Winters. Drass again gets some Rain in August as well as in the Winters thanks to the Western disturbances. And Drass gets 4 times the precipitation as Leh. Drass is probably the Wettest place in Ladakh. Do go through our Ladakh Travel Guide if planning a Trip to Ladakh.
Srinagar
Srinagar is the Capital of the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. It has a Continental Type Climate with Warm to nowadays almost Hot Summers and Cold Winters with the Temperature falling below Zero on most Nights in Winter. As a unique characteristic of the Kashmir Valley the majority of the Precipitation in Kashmir comes due to the Western Disturbance and March / April are the Wettest Months. Kashmir also experiences a Mild Monsoon as some Clouds do make it over the Pir Panjals but it isnt nowhere as heavy as in the other locations in the Himalayas mentioned in this Article. Do go through our Kashmir Travel Guide if planning a Trip to Kashmir.
Gulmarg
And then there is Gulmarg. The world famous Ski Resort in Kashmir. Its located at a certain edge of the Pir Panjals and this is the area that the Western Disturbance usually hits at first and as a result of that Gulmarg gets a lot of Snowfall in Winters. And plus the altitude of above 8000 ft creates the perfect condition for Snow related activities.
Dalhousie
Dharamshala
Manali
Shimla
Mussoorie
Nainital
Almora
Darjeeling
