No snow in plains

For a Valley that has long measured winter not just by cold but by the depth of snow, the continuing lack of snowfall in the plains, including in Srinagar is unsettling. The plains have gone snowless despite several weather predictions to the contrary. Forecasts spoke of snowfall on New Year’s Eve, but nothing happened. What arrived instead was a familiar, increasingly troubling pattern: dry skies, biting cold, and a winter that feels incomplete.

Yes, the upper reaches tell a different story. Gulmarg and other high-altitude areas have received snowfall, enough to sustain winter tourism and keep ski slopes alive. But Kashmir is not just its mountains. The Valley’s ecological rhythm depends critically on snow settling in the plains, slowly melting, recharging groundwater, feeding rivers, and sustaining agriculture through the year.

The repeated mismatch between prediction and reality has left residents disappointed, even cynical. But the larger concern goes beyond one missed forecast. Over recent years, Kashmir has witnessed a steady decline in snowfall in its plains, even as intense dry cold tightens its grip. The chill remains harsh, nights are freezing, but without the blanket of snow that once defined winter here.

This shift should worry us. Snowfall is not merely a tourist attraction; it is Kashmir’s natural reservoir. Reduced snow means less spring melt, stressed water supplies, and long-term implications for farming, horticulture, and hydropower. Apples, saffron, and other crops are already feeling the effects of erratic weather patterns. The absence of snow today will lead to severe water shortages tomorrow.

Meteorologists may argue that forecasts are probabilistic, that western disturbances were weak, that temperatures did not dip enough at the right moment. All true. Yet what cannot be explained away is the trend itself. Winters are becoming shorter, drier, and less predictable. Climate change, once spoken of cautiously, is now visible in lived experience.

Kashmir’s winters were once dependable in their severity. Snow in the plains was not an exception but a norm That expectation is now fading, replaced by prolonged dry spells. As a society, we must begin to read these signs with seriousness. More importantly, policymakers must acknowledge that what is happening is not episodic, it is structural and must prepare for this.