The Northern parts especially Jammu and Kashmir is going through a dry spell of winters and the crucial part of Chila e Kalan has almost completed without any snow or rains. The temperature is also seen above normal in these days due to which it has sent an alarm bells and reasserts the fact that climate change is real and inevitable.
The MET department even confirms that there are significant and concerning weather changes in Kashmir due to which it goes through a dry spell once in four or five years. The experts have warned that if this dry spell continues for few more months with no significant snow or rainfall, Kashmir would go through one of the worst droughts triggering huge crisis of waters for both drinking and agricultural purposes.
The glaciers doesn’t recharge properly now and are melting at an alarming pace in summers. While there is a deficiency of snowfall in winters, the unprocedented rise in temperatures in summer and fast receding of glaciers set alarm bells for future disasters.
Due to increasing carbon emissions, experts estimated that over the last six decades, the Union Territory has lost over thirty to forty per cent glaciers and by the end of this century seventy per cent of glaciers would be disappear.
During 2023 summer, Kashmir witnessed the highest temperatures though in winters there was no significant snowfall. There is a need to wake up to this concern for both at societal level and at government positions to address the environmental concerns for bright and better future of coming generations.
The laws need to be framed to encourage more planting of trees and alongside that people have to be made aware of the consequences of losing green cover and its impact. Kashmir is an agrarian valley sharing substantial contribution to its GDP followed by tourism industry. In case the weather changes continue, both the sectors would suffer massive setback and may spell a doom for Kashmir economy.
