Kashmir's Animal Alarm

As Kashmir bakes under record heat, its animals endure a harsh and often overlooked battle to survive.

- Dr. Gazanfar Abass

I never thought I'd see a cow pant like a dog. But this scorching spring, I did.

She stood in the corner of a shed, foam collecting around her mouth, chest heaving, eyes dull.

It was 2 p.m., and the tin roof above her trapped the heat like an oven. The thermometer read 39°C, but it felt much hotter inside. There was no fan, no breeze and barely any water left in the trough.

This wasn't an isolated case. All over the Jammu and Kashmir this year, we have been recording animals buckling under the weight of a heat they aren't built for.

Cats are collapsing. Dogs are overheating. Calves won't feed. Birds are falling out of trees.

The Kashmir I've known-cool, green, shaded by chinars-is changing fast. And our animals are paying the price.

I work as a veterinary surgeon in the government's animal husbandry department. Summers were once the serene season. Not anymore. In the last few weeks, I've seen more heat-related cases than I can count.

Srinagar recorded its hottest May in sixty years. Jammu hit 41.4°C. Even the mornings now feel heavy. Nights offer little relief. The India Meteorological Department says more heatwaves are on the way for late May and early June. But they're already here.