What damage dry spells can do to Kashmir Valley?
While a large number of springs in the Valley are on the verge of going dry, the glaciers in Hindu Kush region are melting at fast pace due to erratic weather patterns in Kashmir
Hyderabad: Swinging between erratic weather patterns in the recent years, Kashmir Valley witnessed just one snowfall this winter, which has created apprehensions among people of drought in 2025. The dry spell, which followed the extreme floods, points towards the adverse affects of climate change in the region.
What this prolonged dry spell means for the Valley?
With the hopes of a bountiful summer dashed to the ground, the bad news has started trickling. Already, a large number of springs in the Valley are on the verge of going dry, including the famous Achabal spring.
Drinking water supplies of over 15 villages and irrigation to thousands of acres of paddy depend on the water of Achabal Spring.
Similarly, the water discharge at the Verinag Spring is running very low.
Verinag Spring is the source of the Jhelum River that runs through the middle of the Valley through Anantnag, Pulwama, Srinagar, Ganderbal, Bandipora and Baramulla districts till it crosses the Line of Control (LoC) and joins the Indus River at Mithankot in Pakistan. Before joining the Indus, Jhelum and Ravi join the Chenab River while Beas joins the Sutlej River, and before meeting the Indus River, both Sutlej and Chenab join each other to form the Panjnad River.
The entire agriculture and horticulture in Anantnag, Srinagar, parts of Ganderbal, Bandipora and Baramulla districts depend on the Jhelum River.
The ‘Khelo India Gulmarg 2025’ games scheduled to be held in the ski resort of Gulmarg have been postponed as the resort has little snow to sustain winter sports.
Villages where perennial water sources like springs existed for hundreds of years are being supplied potable water through water tanks.
A large number of perennial springs have tested unsafe water because of the presence of bacteria. Contaminated drinking water causes diseases such as jaundice.
The Sindh stream passing through the middle of Ganderbal from the foothills of Zojila Pass and joins Jhelum River shows signs of drying up.
Historically, floods and not droughts have wreaked havoc in Kashmir in the past. But now, in the absence of rains, the Valley will soon be a huge piece of parched land.
The other worrying thing is that the perennial water reserves in the mountains have started melting because of unusually high day temperatures. Largest glaciers in the Hindu Kush region includes, Kolahoi, Thajiwas, Hoksar, Nehnar and Shishram. Those around Harmukh are also melting fast.
The day temperatures were recorded nearly 8 degrees Celsius above normal.
What will be most affected is the Valley’s tourism industry, which is broadly dependent on the snowfall in the region. And minus snowfall, Kashmir’s delicate economy might just crumble. Kashmir’s tourism industry has just started seeing the light after shrouded by terrorism for decades.
Meanwhile, any measure would mean little if the people continue to fiddle with Kashmir’s delicate ecological balance.
