J&K Grapples With Deadly Weather Chaos As Climate Threat Grows
A large area of Jammu and Kashmir has been laid low by sudden and fierce rain and hail, blocking access to Srinagar from Jammu, upending everyday life, and damaging the apple crop in the north and south. Several people are feared dead, and districts such as Ramban are grappling with debris and property damage left behind by lightning and torrential rain. What worries people in the Union Territory the most is the growing unpredictability of weather systems influenced by climate change.
In late December, Srinagar was freezing at -8.5 degrees C, but the mercury shot up to 30.4 degrees C on April 15, a 10-degree rise above the seasonal average. These swings accompany a contrasting trend of long dry spells, a shift from snowfall to rain, and very heavy rain days that unleash landslides. Unfortunately, there is little comfort for the rest of the year in the forecast from climate scientists, who anticipate no big change from the high temperatures of 2024 that were part of an El Nino event.
The Union government has, meanwhile, assessed that nearly 5,000 acres of agriculture in Jammu and Kashmir were damaged during 2024-25 by hydro-meteorological events, and the losses would include high-value crops. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has rightly lamented that not enough awareness of the impacts of climate change is being created for people to take defensive and mitigation actions. Jammu and Kashmir’s fortunes are critically important, given the fragility of the Hindu Kush Himalayas that straddle 11 mountain states, ten large Asian river systems, including the Ganga, and host an estimated population of 86 million people, according to a 2019 study by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD).
If the depressing scientific estimate of average temperature rise remaining above the UN Paris climate goal of 1.5 degrees C turns out to be correct, the fortunes of millions will be affected by retreating glaciers, drying springs and insufficient snow to feed the water cycle on the one hand and short, intense rain on the other. Evidently, climate is a global system, and carbon emissions from any corner of the globe impact India. This reality underscores the need to ramp up the campaign for mitigation and adaptation assistance from rich countries for the affected population.
The UN Climate Summit in 2024 resolved to triple climate finance to $300 bn, and Kashmir and the IndoGangetic Plain will need access to it. The political momentum on climate action may have slowed after Donald Trump became the US President, but India must persevere. The government must strengthen insurance coverage for life, agriculture, and property. Hydropower losses must be augmented through alternative sources. The immediate priority is to provide relief and rehabilitation to those hit by the current weather system in J&K.
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