Can Saffron Survive the Heat?

Erratic weather, urban sprawl, and rising temperatures are shrinking Kashmir's saffron fields. Farmers now look to science to keep a centuries-old tradition alive.

- Mohammad Hanief

The autumn harvest no longer brings the same comfort it once did in Kashmir's saffron town.

The fields that earlier bloomed like a crimson quilt have now thinned. Families for generations built their lives around this delicate flower that gave Kashmir its name: the land of red gold. Today, the yields tell a different story.

Production has slipped from around eight metric tons annually to less than three. The shift is a direct consequence of climate stress: unseasonal warmth, delayed monsoons, and winters that fail to deliver the chilling period saffron needs to flower. Even a few misaligned days of temperature or rainfall can erase months of painstaking labour.

Saffron is famously sensitive. The plant thrives within narrow climatic thresholds. Flowering requires cool autumn nights, moderate rainfall, and soil that remains neither too wet nor too dry. Rising temperatures in the last five years, coupled with erratic precipitation, have disrupted these delicate cycles.

Farmers recount years where flowers emerged unevenly, leaving entire plots unproductive. In 2025, the climate seems to conspire against tradition, turning a once-reliable harvest into a precarious gamble.

Urbanization compounds these climatic pressures. Pampore’s fields are gradually being encroached upon by roads, housing projects, brick kilns, and infrastructure development. Fertile farmland shrinks year by year, forcing families to cultivate smaller areas while maintaining the same labour-intensive practices. Soil erosion, declining water tables, and altered drainage patterns have worsened conditions. Every lost acre translates directly into lower output and reduced income.