Srinagar, June 25 -- According to data, key gauging stations recorded alarming lows on Wednesday. At 9:00 am, Jhelum's depth stood at just 0.96 ft at Sangam, 2.79 ft at Munshi Bagh, 2.78 ft at Asham, while Pampore reported a negative level of -1.16 metres. Wullar Lake, a major water body in north Kashmir, was recorded at 1575.02 metres-well below its seasonal average of 1578.00 metres.

Tributaries feeding the Jhelum showed similar signs of stress: Vishow Nallah at Khudwani registered 2.38 metres, Rambiyara at Wachi dropped to -0.35 metres, Lidder Nallah at Batkoot stood at 0.37 metres, and Sindh Nallah at Doderhama read 1.30 metres.

While independent weather forecaster Faizan Arif Keng acknowledged the decline, he stated that it's "not ...