Uttarakhand Receive Fresh Snowfall

• 02 Feb 2024

Why in News?

Recently, Uttarakhand received its first snowfall of the season along with Jammu and Kashmir, and Himachal Pradesh.

Key Points

• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had earlier predicted heavy rain and snowfall in the mountainous regions of the three states in the coming days due to a western disturbance.

India Meteorological Department (IMD)

• It was established in 1875. It is the National Meteorological Service of the country and the principal government agency in all matters relating to meteorology and allied subjects.
  • It works as an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
• It is headquartered in New Delhi.
• IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialized Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organization.

Western Disturbances

• Western disturbances are storms that originate in the Caspian or Mediterranean Sea, and bring non-monsoonal rainfall to northwest India, according to the IMD.
• They are labelled as an extra-tropical storm originating in the Mediterranean, is an area of low pressure that brings sudden showers, snow and fog in northwest India.
• The meaning of WD lies in its name.
  • The disturbance travels from the “western” to the eastern direction.
  • These travel eastwards on high-altitude westerly jet streams - massive ribbons of fast winds traversing the earth from west to east.
• Disturbance means an area of “disturbed” or reduced air pressure.
  • Equilibrium exists in nature due to which the air in a region tries to normalise its pressure.
• In the term “extra-tropical storm”, storm refers to low pressure. “Extra-tropical" means outside the tropics. As the WD originates outside the tropical region, the word “extra-tropical” has been associated with them.