New Delhi: Snowfall in the Indian Himalayes is becoming harder to find, with the snowpack falling in places as high as 200 metres (650 feet), the Himalayan Council of Education (HCEE) said on Friday.
The council’s data showed the average depth of snow in India is 0.07 metres (4 inches) in the Ganges-Brahmaputra Valley and 0.19 metres (3.5 inches) at the Brahmaputra Crossing.
The area is also among the driest in the world.
According to HCEE data, snowfall in 2017-18 fell at 0.21 metres (7 inches) per day.
The average depth was 0.02 metres (5 inches).
Himalayan snowfall averages a maximum of 8.3 metres (24 feet), according to data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).
The HCEe said this year’s snowfall has been around a quarter of the average winter maximum of 9.5 metres (25 feet).
The snowpack is often limited in places, especially in the north, due to the winter monsoon season.
“There are a lot of rivers and streams that are frozen and cannot flow in the summer.
This has caused the region to experience drought conditions,” the council said in a statement.
The drought in the country has forced millions of people to migrate to cities, particularly in the south.
