Kashmir Is Running Out of Water

The story of water is turning into a story of loss in Kashmir. The Jhelum, once called the valley’s lifeline, is shrinking. Dal and Wular are gasping under silt, pollution, and declining inflows. Snow in the Himalayas, once so abundant that it fed streams deep into summer, now falls less and melts faster. The valley is drying in plain sight.

- Mohammad Hanief

This past winter told the telling tale. Meadows in Gulmarg and Pahalgam, once buried under snow, stood exposed. Springs that generations relied on for drinking water are running low. Farmers across South Kashmir speak of cracked fields where rain-fed crops no longer thrive. The promise of steady snow-melt and gentle rains, nature’s old rhythm, has broken.

The changes are neither abstract nor far-off. Climate change has turned Kashmir into a case study of fragility. Glaciers retreat year after year. Annual rainfall has fallen, while unpredictable cloudbursts bring sudden floods that devastate villages and cities alike.

The agriculture sector, which supports the majority of rural households, is most exposed. Food production has already dipped, threatening both livelihoods and nutrition.