Snow-chasing tourists might want to reconsider their Sikkim calendars. The hill state tends to experience its highest seasonal snow cover in February and not, as widely assumed, in December or January, a study has suggested.
Smriti Basnett and Anil V. Kulkarni of the Divecha Centre for Climate Change at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, studied the seasonal snow cover witnessed on the Teesta Basin of the Sikkim Himalayas, northern Sikkim, since 2006.
The researchers used 200 images from Resourcesat — a series of Indian remote-sensing satellites developed by Isro that are focused primarily on the management of land and water resources.
The study estimated the mean monthly snow cover figures for the Teesta Basin of the Sikkim Himalayas, which sprawls 7,096sqkm and is home to 84 glaciers and most of the state’s snow-tourism sites. A 690sqkm area (9.7 per cent) of the Teesta Basin is perennially covered by snow.
The study found that the average snow cover was around 17.5 per cent (of the Teesta Basin’s area) in October, increasing to 25.74 per cent in November.
After a slight dip in December and January, the snow cover rose to a maximum of 50 per cent in February, marking the peak of the snow season.
The snow-covered Lachen in Sikkim.
Navin Thapa, managing director, Muscatel Hotels and Resorts, said: “Tourist footfall in both Sikkim and Darjeeling is less in February compared with December.”
The researchers noted that Sikkim receives higher snowfall from western disturbances in February than from the northeast (or retreating) monsoon (October to December).
The western disturbances are extra-tropical storms, originating over the Mediterranean region, which bring winter rain and snow to India.
Basnett said: “Mount Kanchenjunga acts like a big barrier, where moisture gets trapped and dumped during this period (February).”
“Due to the advantageous locations of Sikkim, the summer months of March, April and May receive comparatively higher snow precipitation than western Himalayas,” the study has suggested.
Sikkim received snow last Saturday, too.
According to a climatological table prepared by the India Meteorological Department for Gangtok, January is the coldest month in the Sikkim capital, with a daily mean minimum temperature of 4.7°C. December averages 6.2°C and February, 6.1°C.
However, snowfall -- and therefore snow cover -- depends not just on low temperatures but also on the moisture level in the atmosphere.