Lahaul Valley is dry and brown this year used to be in white blanket of snow by this time

The cold deserts of Lahaul-Spiti, which usually have eight to nine feet of snow and freezing temperatures in January, have no snow this year. Shimla has also missed its usual winter snow. Kangra, known for its Rabi crops, is completely dry.

These worrying signs are showing up even though we’re only halfway through January. The local people of Lahaul-Spiti are praying for snow.

Over the last ten years, the city has seen less and less snow, which is not consistent. This has forced people who love winter sports to go higher up in the mountains to find snowy slopes for skiing.

In the past, the town of Kufri in Shimla, which is about 8,800 feet high, was a great place for skiers. But with less snowfall over the years and a lot of construction on the ski slopes, skiers are now going to higher places. They prefer the slopes in Solang valley in Manali, and at Keylong and Sissu in Lahaul-Spiti district, which are between 9,000 and 10,300 feet high.

Kufri has been experiencing less and irregular snowfall each year, particularly since the late 1990s. As a result, skiers have started preferring the Lahaul-Spiti district and Manali. However, this year, there has been no snowfall in these areas so far. This decreasing trend in snowfall has been observed for about the last two decades, and the duration of snowy months has also reduced. This is a concerning situation for winter sports enthusiasts and the tourism industry.

Keep Reading

• How retreat of Machoi glacier impacting lives in Kashmir?
• Hathiya Kheda: Four Villages In MP Waiting For Roads
• “Give Plastic, Take Gold” Initiative In Sadiwara Village Of Kashmir

Follow Ground Report for Environment and Under-Reported issues in India. Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, Koo App, Instagram, Whatsapp and YouTube. Write us on [email protected].