Shimla: Decreasing snowfall, rising temperature worries locals, environmentalists

 

• The hill capital, which was earlier draped in white and attracted tourists, now presents a gray look with dry grass covering most of the hills.

The harsh winters with heavy snowfall begin in December itself and cover Shimla in a white blanket of snow and it lasts till late March or early April. However, this has now become a thing of the past.

The hill capital, once draped in white and attracting tourists, now presents a brownish look with dry grass covering most of the hills.

Recently, environmentalists and local people have raised concerns over rising temperatures and dwindling snow cover that the snow line is rising and the "Queen of the Hills" is slowly losing its winter charm. Its effect is now more visible than ever in the hill town with dwindling tourist arrivals in winters and drying up of water sources.

According to climate experts, the snow line is receding and Shimla's nearby tourist towns of Kufri and Narkanda, popular skiing destinations, are also receiving less snowfall, PTI reported.

Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association president MK Seth told PTI that the state capital's tourism industry is getting affected due to falling footfalls and there is a dire need to find more tourist places and activities in and around the city.

Tourism in the hill state contributes about 7.5 percent of the state's GDP.

Adding to that snow also plays an important role in replenishing the city's perennial sources of water such as springs, streams and rivulets. Less snowfall means water sources dry up and cities face shortages.

Earlier, in 2018, the problem of water scarcity had increased to such an alarming level that water supply had to be restricted every fifth or sixth day, severely reducing tourist inflow during the peak summer season.

In 1989-90, Shimla received 556.7 cm of snow from November to March, while the figure for the same period in 2008-09 was only 105.2 cm, according to meteorological department data.

Old timers recall that in 1945 Shimla experienced a record snowfall of 360 cm to 450 cm in one go, throwing normal life out of gear and even the railway station being hit by heavy snow Was.

Surendra, director of the local meteorological office in Shimla, said, “There is an irregular pattern of rainfall because of climate change due to global warming. Extreme weather events are being observed and the number of snow days is gradually decreasing. being watched." Paul told PTI.

Recalling his experience during the winter, eighty-year-old OP Sood said, "The docile monkeys used to fall on trees in search of food and raided houses and shops with more courage than usual, and most of the residents died during the winter." Used to go to the plains. But things have changed now."

Climate experts told PTI that indiscriminate felling of hills, construction of multi-storey concrete buildings, manifold increase in population and increasing human activities have become the curse of Shimla and the city is now hotter than the plains. .

A joint study by the State Center on Climate Change (SCCC), Himachal Pradesh and Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Center of ISRO using Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) satellite data maps revealed that the snow cover in the state has increased by 18.5 percent. A decrease in percentage is observed. in 2020-21.

According to the SCCC, the increase in temperature in the northwestern Himalayan region over the last century was about 1.6 °C, but Shimla's warming rate during 1991–2002 was higher than that of Leh and Srinagar in earlier decades. It shows that the gross increase in mean air temperature during 1980–2002 in the northwestern Himalayas was about 2.2 °C.Shimla: Decreasing snowfall, rising temperature worries locals, environmentalists

• The hill capital, which was earlier draped in white and attracted tourists, now presents a gray look with dry grass covering most of the hills. 

The harsh winters with heavy snowfall begin in December itself and cover Shimla in a white blanket of snow and it lasts till late March or early April. However, this has now become a thing of the past. 

The hill capital, once draped in white and attracting tourists, now presents a brownish look with dry grass covering most of the hills. 

Recently, environmentalists and local people have raised concerns over rising temperatures and dwindling snow cover that the snow line is rising and the "Queen of the Hills" is slowly losing its winter charm. Its effect is now more visible than ever in the hill town with dwindling tourist arrivals in winters and drying up of water sources. 

According to climate experts, the snow line is receding and Shimla's nearby tourist towns of Kufri and Narkanda, popular skiing destinations, are also receiving less snowfall, PTI reported. 

Tourism Industry Stakeholders Association president MK Seth told PTI that the state capital's tourism industry is getting affected due to falling footfalls and there is a dire need to find more tourist places and activities in and around the city. 

Tourism in the hill state contributes about 7.5 percent of the state's GDP. 

Adding to that snow also plays an important role in replenishing the city's perennial sources of water such as springs, streams and rivulets. Less snowfall means water sources dry up and cities face shortages. 

Earlier, in 2018, the problem of water scarcity had increased to such an alarming level that water supply had to be restricted every fifth or sixth day, severely reducing tourist inflow during the peak summer season. 

In 1989-90, Shimla received 556.7 cm of snow from November to March, while the figure for the same period in 2008-09 was only 105.2 cm, according to meteorological department data. 

Old timers recall that in 1945 Shimla experienced a record snowfall of 360 cm to 450 cm in one go, throwing normal life out of gear and even the railway station being hit by heavy snow Was. 

Surendra, director of the local meteorological office in Shimla, said, “There is an irregular pattern of rainfall because of climate change due to global warming. Extreme weather events are being observed and the number of snow days is gradually decreasing. being watched." Paul told PTI. 

Recalling his experience during the winter, eighty-year-old OP Sood said, "The docile monkeys used to fall on trees in search of food and raided houses and shops with more courage than usual, and most of the residents died during the winter." Used to go to the plains. But things have changed now." 

Climate experts told PTI that indiscriminate felling of hills, construction of multi-storey concrete buildings, manifold increase in population and increasing human activities have become the curse of Shimla and the city is now hotter than the plains. . 

A joint study by the State Center on Climate Change (SCCC), Himachal Pradesh and Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Center of ISRO using Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) satellite data maps revealed that the snow cover in the state has increased by 18.5 percent. A decrease in percentage is observed. in 2020-21. 

According to the SCCC, the increase in temperature in the northwestern Himalayan region over the last century was about 1.6 °C, but Shimla's warming rate during 1991–2002 was higher than that of Leh and Srinagar in earlier decades. It shows that the gross increase in mean air temperature during 1980–2002 in the northwestern Himalayas was about 2.2 °C.