Gulmarg, Indian-administered Kashmir – A dismayed Javad Ahmad gazes up on the clear blue skies, and on the barren and crimson ski slopes in Gulmarg, a preferred vacationer vacation spot in Indian-administered Kashmir’s Baramulla district.
Sitting exterior his closed ski store, he’s hoping for snowfall as an unusually dry winter disrupts tourism and threatens livelihoods within the Himalayan area.
A ski coach by occupation, Ahmad is often booked almost day-after-day between December and February as thousands and thousands of Indians go to the picturesque valley, snowboarding on its white slopes and sightseeing across the snow-capped mountains and dales.
However he’s out of labor this 12 months, together with lots of of different trainers and mountain guides.
All of the ski slots booked till early February have been cancelled. On common, he says, the mountains used to have 30 to 40 ft [9-12 metres] of snow at greater altitudes. Now, that’s down to 3 ft of snow.
The well-known Gulmarg ski resort, situated near the Line of Management that divides Kashmir between India and Pakistan, now wears a abandoned look.
“That is for the primary time in 20 years of my snowboarding profession that I’m sitting again with out work within the month of January,” the 41-year-old says.
“It breaks my coronary heart to see these mountains snowless.”
‘Considering of switching my job’
The snowless mountain slopes have pressured Ahmad to rethink his occupation.
“I don’t see the longer term in snowboarding. I’m considering of switching my job, which once more shouldn’t be straightforward for me. If the state of affairs stays the identical, I’ll need to search for another livelihood,” he says.
Muhammad Yasin, one of many oldest ski trainers in Gulmarg, says the ski grounds was crowded this time of the 12 months, “however now it’s all empty”.
“If it snows, our work will start and if not, then all we are able to do is wait,” Yasin says.
Indian-administered Kashmir, together with the Ladakh area, is dealing with a extreme dry spell this winter in each the plains and better altitudes within the Western Himalayas.
In Kashmir, the economic system broadly relies on tourism, which contributes 7 % to the area’s gross home product (GDP). As per the federal government information, 16.8 million vacationers visited the valley till the top of September 2023, whereas about 19 million vacationers arrived in 2022 – the 12 months tourism was revived within the disputed area, additionally claimed by neighbouring Pakistan, after almost three years of lockdown.
Tourism in Indian-administered Kashmir was severely hit in 2019 when New Delhi scrapped the area’s particular standing and imposed a months-long safety clampdown. That was quickly adopted by the coronavirus pandemic and extra lockdowns, disrupting lives and livelihoods.
However the lack of snowfall this 12 months has once more raised fears of one other wasted 12 months. And never only for ski trainers, however for hoteliers, guides and different employees.
“That is the primary time I’m visiting Kashmir and it’s fairly disappointing with out snow,” says Muhammad Suhail, a vacationer. “We had paid upfront for resort and different issues, in any other case we’d have referred to as off the journey.”
The truth is, quite a few resort bookings have been cancelled.
“Nearly 30 % of bookings have been cancelled and it’s rising day-to-day,” says Aijaz Bhat, a resort supervisor in Gulmarg.
“Our company are testing and departing early.”
‘Snowless, brown land’
Pony rides are among the many main native sights for vacationers. Now, the lads who handle the ponies say they wait of their stands your complete day and return residence within the night with out making any cash.
“We don’t earn even $2 a day. The vacationers get upset and return after they see snowless, brown land,” says 45-year-old Bashir Ahmad.
The meteorological division in Indian-administered Kashmir has predicted dry climate till January 24. If the spell continues, it’s unclear whether or not India’s annual nationwide winter video games, often held in Gulmarg within the first week of February, can go forward.
“Through the winters, tourism in Gulmarg will get a lift because of the nationwide winter video games. If the state of affairs persists, the video games could also be cancelled this 12 months,” says Ghulam Nabi Lone, president of the merchants’ affiliation within the resort city.
Gulmarg’s residents blame the failure of the native administration to deal with air pollution as the rationale behind the snowfall deficit, particularly in ecologically fragile vacationer locations.
“We now have not seen Gulmarg like this in many years. The authorities aren’t capable of curb air pollution,” says Tariq Ahmad, president of the horse employees’ affiliation in Gulmarg. “They’re additionally clearing the forests for building functions and dumping rubbish within the forests.”
Water disaster feared
Specialists additionally say that unregulated tourism might have contributed to air pollution and local weather change within the Himalayan area.
“Elevated footfall usually results in useful resource overuse, waste era and carbon emissions impacting native ecosystems and exacerbating world warming,” says environmentalist Anjal Prakash.
Raja Wasim, the chief govt officer of the Gulmarg Improvement Authority, says whereas sustainable tourism was the authority’s precedence, it couldn’t take all of the measures without delay. “It’s a gradual course of and it’ll take us a while to alter and regulate issues,” he says.
Wasim additionally denies the dearth of snowfall has hit vacationer footfall within the space however admitted that some resort and ski cancellations had taken place.
Specialists additionally say the snow deficit within the higher Himalayas might have been brought on by climate-related disruptions, altering the standard precipitation patterns.
“The Himalayas have been experiencing the impression of local weather change, together with glacier retreat and modifications in snowfall patterns,” says Prakash, including that components equivalent to rising temperatures, melting or retreating glaciers, and altering atmospheric circulation have contributed to the diminished snowfall.
“This shift poses threats to water availability, agriculture and ecosystem well being,” he provides. “The native inhabitants faces heightened vulnerability to pure disasters and useful resource shortages, escalating socioeconomic challenges.”
Geologist Shakil Romshoo warns {that a} lack of snow within the area might result in a shortage of water later within the 12 months too.
“The less-than-normal snowfall, with irregular excessive day temperatures would possibly result in water shortages throughout summers, which is not going to be ample to satisfy the necessities of water-intensive paddy cultivation in Kashmir,” he says.
“The low snowfall has already hit winter tourism in Gulmarg and different hill stations within the valley and if the development continues, it will be worse sooner or later.”