Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday rightly highlighted the climate change in Jammu and Kashmir and its detrimental impact on agriculture. Speaking at the National Agriculture Summit and Farmers’ Fair-2024 at SKUAST-Jammu, he said the changing weather patterns in the form of delayed snowfall, rising temperatures, and unpredictable rainfall were threatening the traditional agricultural practices. This, as the CM also stressed, calls for a proper response as far as saving the UT’s agriculture is concerned. And the adoption of modern agricultural practices, advanced technologies, and farmer awareness programmes will certainly make some difference. Considering that climate change is getting worse by the day, we certainly need to devise alternative means to sustain our agriculture and the larger economy.
The challenge posed by climate change is grim: Over the last few years, Kashmir has been witness to recurring heatwaves, including warmer-than-usual winters. Gulmarg, one of Kashmir’s most picturesque spots, went snowless during December and January this year, otherwise the harshest period of winter in the Valley. This temporarily reduced the inflow of tourists to the resort.
A snowless winter has another troubling dimension: according to scientists it signals the impact of the worldwide climate change sneaking ever so closer to the Valley. Data reveals that in the past 28 years alone, nine winters have passed more or less snowless – three of them in the last decade – a frequency that has created a deep sense of alarm. The snowfall is important not just for tourism but as a lifeline for the glaciers which keep our rivers and streams flowing and agriculture fields irrigated. High-altitude areas retain their sub-zero temperatures, enabling the snow to endure throughout the year.
Kashmir has already witnessed a staggering 25 percent reduction in glacier size, a trend exacerbated by climate change and less or delayed snowlessness. If left unchecked, 48 percent of these vital sources of water could vanish by the end of the century. And this state of affairs is also affecting the irrigation, and, in turn, agriculture.
Already in Kashmir, the paddy land is steadily diminishing, with approximately 6000 hectares lost over the past seven years, according to official figures. The current paddy land under cultivation stands at 1,29,000 hectares, down from 1,35,000 hectares seven years ago. So, the CM has rightly prodded the agricultural universities to devise new farming practices that take on board the changing climate. However, climate change doesn’t just affect agriculture but almost everything, so the government has to form a comprehensive plan to deal with the crisis. And this needs to be done sooner than later.
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