Usually, the hill stations of North India stay nice from March to the top of May. However, these months have alternated between extreme chilly and scorching warmth this 12 months. In 2024, the spring season was basically misplaced between winter and summer season. The variety of vacationers and locals in Kashmir has far exceeded its capability. The rising variety of concrete buildings to accommodate them and the massive crowd of automobiles have disrupted nature, leading to variable climate situations.
Kashmir, which has all the time been a best choice for vacationers, is now disappointing them attributable to unsure climate situations. March and April, which mark the start of spring, had surprising snowfall, rain, and extreme chilly till the third week of April. Suddenly, it grew to become scorching sizzling with temperatures 5-7 levels above regular. April was the coldest month within the final 20 years, and now May is the most well liked month within the final 35 years.
In current years, at any time when temperatures within the plains have soared and there was no respite from the scorching solar, hundreds of thousands of vacationers have flocked to the hill stations of Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. This has led to huge visitors jams and vacationer footfall far past the capability of those ecologically delicate areas. Experts say this could irreversibly harm the delicate ecosystem of those areas. The identical is going on with Kashmir, the place well-known hill stations like Gulmarg, Pahalgam, Sonmarg, and plenty of different locations are overcrowded. The fast building of inns, huts, and resorts is resulting in the felling of inexperienced timber for brand new developments. As a outcome, the scorching warmth in Kashmir has made life depressing.
The Director of the Kashmir Meteorology Department mentioned there will likely be no respite from the heatwave in Jammu and Kashmir for a minimum of the subsequent 15 days. He additional said that the area is going through variable climate, with sudden warmth and heavy rains, and these situations will improve. He famous that people should adapt to this variability, which is essentially attributable to large-scale urbanization.
Mukhtar Ahmed, Director of the Kashmir Meteorology Department, mentioned that the temperature in Jammu and Kashmir has been dry for the previous couple of weeks, and the warmth is constantly rising. Even within the hilly areas, the mercury has risen to 30 levels Celsius. In the hilly areas of Jammu, temperatures are round 35 levels, and within the plains of Jammu, they’ve reached 43 levels. The warmth is predicted to proceed within the coming days. He added, “Of course, the uncontrolled temperature of the Earth is increasing globally, and this is true for Jammu and Kashmir as well. Rapid urbanization is contributing to higher daytime temperatures. Our infrastructure, urbanization, massive transportation, and increased factory activities all impact the temperature. Infrastructure development at tourist spots, and increased tourism in recent years, also contribute to rising temperatures.”
The variety of vacationers in Kashmir has elevated by 200 % within the final 5 years. COVID-19 restrictions have modified folks’s mindsets, making them extra keen to spend cash on home journey. They are prioritizing home journey over worldwide journey. Air journey to Kashmir is costlier than to Delhi-Dubai, but folks select Kashmir. Tourists now spend massive quantities on home journey, a development not seen earlier, and so they go to Kashmir even within the low season.
Last 12 months, Jammu and Kashmir acquired the best variety of vacationers since independence, with 21.1 million vacationers, together with pilgrims. There was a 700 % improve in overseas vacationers within the valley. In 2024, greater than 1.1 million vacationers have reached Kashmir to this point, excluding pilgrims to Mata Vaishno Devi. Eight extra flights are working in comparison with final 12 months, with a median of 18,000 vacationers arriving in Kashmir each day, and greater than 5,000 arriving by street. According to accessible information, Kashmir has one hundred pc occupancy till July. The sharp rise in tourism just isn’t restricted to Kashmir alone. Tourist locations in North India like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Shimla, Manali, Mussoorie, Nainital, and Dalhousie are additionally full of vacationers.
The rising rush from the plains to the mountains has additional aggravated environmental issues, corresponding to harm to the delicate hill ecosystem, plastic air pollution, air air pollution, unpredictable visitors jams, and the development of latest concrete buildings to host vacationers. Many within the tourism business are involved about these modifications and need Kashmir to turn out to be a sustainable vacationer vacation spot for future generations. They warn that if the present development continues unchecked, it can destroy the glory of Kashmir.
Manzoor Pakhtoon, General Secretary of the Kashmir Houseboat Association, mentioned, “Kashmir is a famous place in summers. It is hot during the day, but not unbearably so. Our virgin destinations are crowded with tourists. We should take care of them. Whether it is the government or the common man, we should see how we can make it a sustainable place and save our wetlands and glaciers.”
Pakhtoon added, “When it comes to the environment, it is not just about tourism. We also live here and need to take good care of our forests and mountains. A pressure group should be formed to protect the environment and our future. New destinations should be built with an eco-friendly approach, not as concrete jungles. This is just the beginning. If we take care today, maybe things can improve.”
Nowadays, vacationers visiting Kashmir already really feel the change in its local weather and say they didn’t anticipate such warmth in hill stations like Kashmir. Many examine it with their earlier visits and notice important modifications. They report heavy visitors jams and widespread air pollution as causes for the change.
A vacationer, Sharda Jain from Gwalior, mentioned, “We came to Kashmir for the cold and thought the weather would be pleasant, but we encountered scorching heat. Global warming and a lot of tourist traffic could be reasons.”
A vacationer from Mumbai, Ashok, mentioned, “Globalization is also having a significant impact. Many hotels are being built, affecting the environment. Nature is getting destroyed. It is everyone’s responsibility, whether common people or the government, to work for a better future.”
Ashok’s daughter, Aayushi, added, “I visited Kashmir in 2006. The Kashmir I saw then is not the same as today. There is much more population, pollution, and crowding. The weather was cold then, but now it is hot.”
A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change means that sudden floods, cloudbursts, and intense rains will turn out to be extra probably in mountainous areas. The report states that rising temperatures and melting glaciers will severely influence plant and animal species already combating heatwaves, droughts, forest fires, and floods. It additional states that local weather change will trigger temperatures to rise in all areas within the coming a long time, particularly in South Asia. Heatwaves will improve, the recent season will turn out to be longer, and the chilly season shorter.
Mukhtar Ahmad, Director of the Kashmir Meteorology Department, mentioned, “This temperature increase is what we call variable climate. It is going to increase over time. For every 1-degree increase in temperature, the moisture-holding capacity of the air increases by around 7 percent. This will result in sudden heavy rains and prolonged dry weather. We must be prepared for this variability.”
A local weather scientist from Kashmir University mentioned that the present temperatures align with predictions made about local weather change impacts. What India is experiencing is because of the warming of the Earth. He warned that the worst is but to return, saying, “As the Earth gets hotter, we will see more extreme heat conditions. This year, we have seen hotter weather than ever before. The kind of heat we saw in April-May was expected in June-July.”
Climate consultants say that the ever-increasing inflow of vacationers to the mountains of North India has made the present scenario very tough. An extended-term technique is urgently wanted to mitigate the approaching disasters of local weather change and over-tourism.
