Snowfall should be abundant during winter in the Himalayas, and since Gulmarg, one of the world’s highest ski resorts, is located in Indian-administered Kashmir, thousands of visitors are typically there.
The deep powder that was once taken for granted has vanished this year. According to scientists, the brown and naked slopes are a clear illustration of the effects of the harsh weather brought on by the planet’s increasing warming.
In addition to severely hurting the ski sector, the lack of snow is also having a serious effect on agriculture, which is the backbone of Kashmir’s economy.
Adventure tour operator Mubashir Khan stated, “Seeing this snowless Gulmarg, I feel like crying every day.” Khan has postponed his wedding since his business is in danger of failing.
“In my 20 years of working here, this is the first time I have seen no snow in Gulmarg in January,” declared Majeed Bakshi, whose heliskiing service for affluent travellers is idle.
A lone helicopter, offering trips over higher peaks dusted with snow, waits for the few remaining tourists.
Hotel manager Hamid Masoodi stated, “Our guests are primarily skiers, and they have all cancelled their bookings.” “Those who come despite no snow are also disappointed.”
The recently built ice rink has turned into a pool of soggy water, and the ski lifts and rental shops are closed.
“The current dry spell is an extreme weather event — which are predicted to become more intense and frequent in the future,” climate expert Shakil Romshoo of the Islamic University of Science and Technology in Kashmir stated.
– Rising temperatures –
Tens of thousands of civilians, soldiers, and rebels have died in Kashmir over the course of decades as a result of an insurgency that sought independence or a union with Pakistan and military operations to put an end to that movement.
With the region’s breathtaking mountain landscape, India has been actively promoting domestic tourism, and the revolt has lost most of its previous vigour.
However, hotel reservations in Gulmarg have dropped by up to 75%, according to travel industry experts, as hundreds of guides and scooter drivers wait outside in the sun, hoping for snowfall.
“Most foreigners who mainly come for skiing on the deep powder slopes have cancelled,” Bakshi stated. “I have lost about 70 percent of bookings so far.”
The Indian army’s High Altitude Warfare School is situated near the heavily fortified Line of Control, the de facto boundary dividing disputed Kashmir between India and Pakistan, at the 2,650-meter (8,694-foot) Himalayan resort.
Since autumn of last year, Kashmir has seen minimal rain, and temperatures have risen by almost six degrees Celsius (42.4 degrees Fahrenheit) over average, according to meteorological officials.
Precipitation in Kashmir last month was 80% less than in previous years.
A few snow showers fell on Gulmarg, but they quickly evaporated.
In a 2020 assessment, the Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences stated that they anticipated the Himalayas and Kashmir to be “particularly subject” to temperature increases.
The World Meteorological Organisation of the UN stated earlier this month that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, with an average worldwide temperature 1.45 degrees Celsius higher than pre-industrial levels (1850–1900).
The last nine years were the warmest on record for any one year.
The effects are evident in Kashmir. Brown and desolate, Gulmarg’s bowl-shaped terrain is popular with travellers because of its snowy winters and flower-filled spring meadows.
‘Prolonged dry spells’
Scientists warn that a series of catastrophic weather occurrences are being triggered by rising global temperatures.
Many in the environmentally vulnerable area are concerned about future water shortages, which might have a disastrous effect on agriculture in addition to the demise of the ski business.
According to study, Kashmir “will experience more frequent and prolonged dry spells,” getting worse in the next decades, according to climate scientist Romshoo.
Farming practices have already changed as a result of changing weather patterns.
The typically full rivers are replenished by snowmelt, but this week, officials in Kashmir issued a warning about water shortages and the possibility of forest fires because many forested regions are tinder dry.
Due of their paddy fields’ constant demand for water, rice farmers have started to turn to fruit.
However, that crop is also in jeopardy because of the dry spell and sunshine, which is causing some trees to blossom more than two months early.
