As Kashmir warms, rainfall now comes with fury

Srinagar, May 22: Residents of several villages in Tral area of south Kashmir’s Pulwama district woke up before dawn Friday to hailstones pounding rooftops, orchards, paddy and vegetable fields as another spell of rain damaged crops at a crucial stage.

The hailstorm affected Nagbal, Zaradihar, Machama, Chankitaar, Mandoora, Panner Jageer, and adjoining villages during the pre-dawn hours, damaging apple blossoms and standing crops, including vegetables.

“The storm damaged orchards and vegetable fields across the area,” said Ajaz Ahmad, 40, a farmer from Tral.

Across Kashmir, farmers say rain between March and September is now routinely accompanied by hailstorms, lightning, thunder, cloudbursts and gusty winds, unlike earlier years when rainfall was often steady and less destructive.

“Hailstorms and lightning occurred earlier too, but not this frequently,” said Abdul Rashid, 60, an orchardist from Shopian. “There was a time when rain continued for days without causing much damage. Now almost every rainfall brings destruction.”

Kashmir’s horticulture sector, particularly apple cultivation, is the backbone of the Valley’s economy and supports thousands of families.

Shopian, Sopore, Kulgam, and the Bijbehara-Srigufwara apple belt contribute a major share of the produce.

Growers say repeated weather events over the past few years have increased losses and debt, especially in the absence of crop insurance.

Over the past three months, repeated spells of rain and hailstorms have damaged orchards and crops across north, central and south Kashmir.

On April 6, hailstorms damaged orchards across several villages in Kulgam and Shopian districts, including Nihama, Laisoo, Gudar, Manzgam, Watoo, Bathipora and Lakedpora in Kulgam, and Kellar, Balpora, Shirmal, Amshipora, Sedow, and many more villages in Shopian.

Ghulam Nabi Bhat, a 70-year-old orchardist from Nihama village, said hailstones struck his 7-kanal orchard when the trees were in full bloom.

“We spend lakhs of rupees on sprays and fertilisers through Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans. One hailstorm wipes everything out,” Bhat said. “This year it hit us during flowering. Last year it came when the fruit was ready.”

“Flowering stage decides the crop,” said G M Banday, president of the Fruit Growers Association South Kashmir. “The April hailstorms came when orchards were in full bloom. In some areas the damage was total, while in others it was 70 to 80 percent.”

Banday said south Kashmir’s apple belt has witnessed multiple spells of hailstorms in the last three months, affecting more than 100 villages in Shopian and Kulgam districts alone.

Apart from damaging crops, the weather events have also claimed human lives, killed livestock and damaged property across Kashmir.

On the night of May 20, lightning killed 107 sheep and goats in Lehandejan area of Pahalgam.

On May 11, another lightning strike killed more than 60 livestock in Poshkar-Kangan area of Ganderbal district.

A cloudburst in Bandipora district a few days ago triggered flash floods and damaged roads in several villages.

Last year, the Srinagar-Jammu National Highway remained blocked for more than 50 days in separate spells during April, August and September because of landslides and shooting stones.

The closures left apple-laden trucks stranded for days, causing fruit consignments to rot and losses to growers and traders.

Flash floods triggered by cloudbursts also claimed several lives in parts of Chenab Valley and Pir Panjal, last year.

Strong winds and rain have also damaged houses, shops and vehicles in different parts of Kashmir in recent weeks, with several rooftops blown away during storms.

In many areas, gusty winds uprooted trees, including fruit-bearing apple trees.

On April 16, a labourer was killed and four others injured after the rooftop of a cold storage facility collapsed during strong winds in Lasipora area of Pulwama district.

By Friday evening, several villages in Bandipora and the Rafiabad area of Baramulla district in north Kashmir were hit by a hailstorm that tore through orchards and damaged standing crops.

Hydrogeologist Riyaz Ahmad Mir of the National Institute of Hydrology, Jammu, said rising temperatures and changing atmospheric conditions linked to climate change were increasing the frequency of cloudbursts and hailstorms.

“A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture and creates unstable conditions that favor short-duration, high-intensity convective rainfall rather than prolonged steady rain,” Mir said.

He said Western Disturbances interacting with moist air masses, along with Kashmir’s mountainous terrain, intensify storms and cloudbursts, while land-use changes that increase surface heating are also contributing to the trend.

Noted climatologist Sonam Lotus said rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms, lightning and gusty winds was common between March and September because temperatures remain high during spring, pre-monsoon and monsoon months.

“These months are highly susceptible to convective rainfall, which is localised and intense,” Lotus said.

He said convective weather activity has increased in recent years because of rising temperatures and global warming.

“Now we are living in a warmer environment and such weather activity has increased,” Lotus said.

He said Kashmir’s shift from paddy cultivation to horticulture over the past two decades has also increased farmers’ vulnerability to weather-related losses.

“From flowering to harvesting, apple crops are highly weather dependent and vulnerable to hailstorms and torrential rains,” Lotus said.

He said that while the India Meteorological Department (IMD) could forecast general weather conditions several days in advance, predicting highly localised hailstorms and cloudbursts remains difficult.

Director Meteorological Department (MeT) Jammu and Kashmir Mukhtar Ahmad also attributed the increase in thunderstorms and related weather events to rising temperatures.

“It is the main factor,” Ahmad said.

Farmers said repeated weather-related losses and the absence of crop insurance are pushing many orchardists deeper into debt.

“Without insurance, farmers are left to suffer on their own. We barely make ends meet to support our families,” said Ajaz Ahmad.