Srinagar: It has been a dampner this season so far as the ski resort of Gulmarg, Kashmir has received almost no snowfall, making stakeholders worried about its implications and fallout.
The first week of new year (2024) has passed by and the ski season at the India’s premier ski resort Gulmarg that draws skiers from all over the World is yet to start due to lack of snow which is zero percent at the moment.
All the bookings, courses , activities related to snow skiing have been cancelled and the stakeholders are concerned about its implications on the longer run.
The weather forecast also doesnt look encouraging with it showing almost no significant precipitation of snowfall till the end of the Janaury. There is forecast in first week of Febuary but that is not going to encourage skiing enthusiasts as it is not going to long enough with Spring season approaching.
While the skiing courses of Youth Services and Sports, Indian Institute of Skiing and Mountaineering and other private institutes have already been impacted by the lack of snow, there is fear that the snow scarcity may also affect upcoming edition of 4th Khelo India Winter Games 2024.
Gulmarg is going to host 4th Khelo India Winter Games from Febuary 2 to 6. It is going to be another mega edition of the games in Gulmarg which is expected to see participation of around 400 athletes from all over the Country. If the condition doesnt improve dramatically , then we dont know what is going to happen during the games.
This season has been worse in recent memory as even higher reaches of Apharwat Mountain has received almost negligible snowfall making things worrisome.
“We are keenly waiting for things to improve as our whole winter season is dependant on Snowfall. It should have already happened but we hope that things will improve in next week or so,” said Rauf Tramboo a prominant Tourism trade stakeholder and President Winter Games Association of J&K.
Gulmarg Snow School official Shabir Ahmad Dar said that they had to postpone all their course till mid Febuary due to concerning lack of snow.
“We just concluded our basic level course Botapathri. We were forced to move out to Botapathri that had few inches of snow acumulation compared to Gulmarg that has got none. It is worrying factor as whole ski season has been impacted. Normally at this time of the season, the resort remain bustling with skiing activities but this season it has been total dry weather,” Shabir said.
“Forecast doesnt look that great and late snowfall is not going to stick for much of the time due to rising temperatures. We may not see long ski season this time around. Not a good sign for the wintersports lovers,” he added.
Climate Change Impacts Ski Resorts World Over:
It is not as such that only, Gulmarg has been impacted by the lack of Snowfall, other resorts like Sonamarg ( which normally remain closed this time due to snow), Dodapathri, Pahalgam have also not received enough snowfall.
The ski resorts of India, like Auli in Uttarakhandh, Himachal Pradesh have also been impacted by the lack of enough snowfall.
The other parts of the World including Europe are also affected by the Climate Change that is turning skiing into an endangered pastime
“Ski seasons are becoming shorter and slopes are turning green as temperatures rise. Heavy rainfall in Alpine resorts contributed to snow melting and slushy conditions,” recent BBC report said.
“When temperatures rise, the atmosphere ends up holding more water vapour, which leads to more rainfall, says Marie Cavitte, a glaciologist and climate researcher at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. “[When] temperatures increase, [water vapour] falls as rain instead of falling as snow,” she adds. “That is what is happening at low altitude ski stations, which are below 1,600m (5,250ft). There we are seeing a lot more rain on snow events which increase the melting of existing snow.”
The report said that the another major concern is the rapid disappearance of glaciers. Alpine resorts such as Tignes in France rely on glaciers for snow cover and water supply. In the European Alps, glaciers are expected to vanish almost completely by 2100, with the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warning that they could lose 94% of their 2017 volume by the end of the century. As temperatures rise, glacial ice melts faster and there is less fresh snow. Glaciers melting could lead to severe flooding and erosion in the valley below and increase the risk of avalanches, destroying critical infrastructure as well as significantly reducing water supplies for local mountain communities.
“According to a 2017 study by the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, the Alps could lose up to 70% of their snow cover by 2100, if global temperatures rise in line with business-as-usual. The world is currently on track for an average of 2.7C (4.9F) of warming by 2100. If global temperature rise is kept below 2C (3.6F), though, the reduction in snow cover will be limited to 30%, according to the study,” BBC report quoted study.
To Counter Climate change scarcity of snow, the Ski resorts are scrambling to ensure that they can stay open for their entire season and provide tourists with the snow-covered, picturesque settings they expect. They are harnessing huge snowmaking machines which cover the pistes in fresh white powder. But that has given rise to conflict between Hydropower generators who battle low water level in winter and the ski resorts.
In Kashmir or in rest of the India having artificial snow making machines looks unimaginable owing to its cost and costly setup. In Europe and most of the other parts of the World, resorts are operated by private companies which make decision making easy while as in India it is not the case. Even if brought in, the maintenance and operation wouldn’t be hassle free.
Overall, artificial snowmaking machines are no definite and final solution. Only hope is to see weather getting better with minimal climate change impact in winter.