Jammu, Jul 10 (KNS): The snow-capped peaks of Kashmir, long regarded as the lifeline of a civilization that draws its sustenance from rivers, lakes, saffron fields, and orchards, are vanishing at an alarming rate. Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh, which together host nearly 18,000 glaciers, have witnessed every single one retreating over the last 60 years, with a loss of 25 to 30 per cent of glacial mass.

 

The iconic Kolahoi Glacier, the largest in the Kashmir Valley, has receded by roughly 25 per cent since 1962, losing approximately 35 metres of ice length every year. Studies project that if current trends continue unchecked, the region could lose 70 to 85 per cent of its glaciers by 2100 .

 

"We have lost 25 to 30 per cent of glaciers in the past 60 years and could lose up to 70 per cent by the end of this century if the trend continues," warns Dr Irfan Rashid, Assistant Professor at the University of Kashmir, adding that temperature projections of 4°C to 7°C rise by the century's end make further retreat virtually inevitable.

 

These are not mere statistics but alarming bells for a region where water, food, and cultural identity are intricately woven into the fate of its glaciers.

 

The last decade witnessed an extraordinary surge in infrastructure development across Jammu and Kashmir, with big road projects like the widening of the Jammu-Srinagar and Srinagar-Baramulla highways, the Jammu-Katra expressway, road widening and construction of tunnels on the Jammu-Poonch highway, railway connectivity to the Kashmir valley, and ring roads in both Jammu and Srinagar.

 

However, this progress has come at a significant cost. Hundreds of thousands of indigenous trees—Chinar, Poplar, Walnut, and Cheer in Kashmir; Mango, Peepal, Neem, Jamun, and Moringa in Jammu—were felled to make way for concrete and bitumen. Entire hillsides were blasted and carved using heavy modern machinery, extending roads and tourist infrastructure deep into ecologically sensitive high-altitude zones .

 

Neither the National Highways Authority of India nor the Jammu and Kashmir Forest Department has yet implemented any credible, concrete plan to restore this loss. The question remains: how many saplings of indigenous varieties have been planted with adequate tree guards and sufficient manpower for their safety and maintenance to compensate for the loss of lakhs of old-aged trees?Click Here To Follow Our WhatsApp Channel

 

Deforestation in upper catchment areas has directly worsened glacier stress, reducing moisture retention, altering local temperature regimes, and exposing fragile ice zones to increased human-induced warming. The massive increase in motor vehicles, rising carbon emissions, and the effects of global warming have further exacerbated the situation. An unprecedented rise in temperatures saw the mercury touch 39 degrees Celsius in the Kashmir valley last year.

 

Rapid glacial melt is fueling flash floods and cloudbursts with increasing frequency and ferocity. The catastrophic 2014 Kashmir floods remain a raw wound in public memory, while flash floods caused devastation in Jammu last year. Cloudbursts have become almost routine, claiming lives and destroying communities each monsoon season. Last year, cloudbursts at Chashoti and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi track resulted in the loss of hundreds of precious lives. This year, cloudbursts have occurred in the Doda-Kishtwar area, including Gahan and Machipal in Kishtwar, and Bandekhra Nalla in Thathri, Doda. A cloudburst in the Tulail Valley (Gurez) caused flash floods in the Chakwali nallah, damaging roads, agricultural fields, and a vital bridge, with debris and water entering villages and low-lying areas.

 

The region also faces the looming threat of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). A risk assessment report has identified 197 glacial lakes in Jammu and Kashmir and the Upper Indus region as high-risk, significantly elevating the threat of floods and landslides. Kishtwar district, hosting the highest concentration of glacial lakes, is identified as the most vulnerable, with four lakes classified as unsafe .

 

These are not simply natural calamities. They are the compounded result of unsustainable growth, rampant deforestation, rising carbon emissions, and decades of neglect toward environmental policy. Calling them purely "acts of God" is a comfortable evasion of responsibility.

 

Kashmir's beauty is an interconnected web. Its rivers, lakes, saffron fields, orchards, wildlife, and the legendary Hangul deer all exist in delicate dependence on the glaciers above. Tear one thread, and the entire fabric begins to unravel. We built roads to the mountains but forgot to protect the mountains themselves. The time for pride in concrete milestones must now be matched with the courage to confront what we have cost ourselves in the process. (KNS)