For the people of Jammu and Kashmir, an unpleasant situation has started knocking their doors because a study carried out by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has revealed that many high-altitude regions of the UT have warmed by nearly 1°C over the past two decades. The latest study published in Scientific Reports has confirmed that mountain stations have been experiencing substantially faster warming than lower elevations.
This unravelling of the mystery of fast vanishing of glaciers in the region should be taken as a wake-up call, not only for policymakers but for all the citizens. The study conducted by Prof. Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, GS Gopikrishnan and VM Pranav Chandran of the Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) at IIT Kharagpur, titled “Warming of the high-mountainous climate sensitive Jammu and Kashmir during the period 1980–2024”, has warned that the trend could lead to serious implications for glaciers, rivers originating from glaciers, water management and climatic conditions in the region.
Besides, it has also been revealed night-time temperatures are rising much faster than daytime temperatures accelerating the shrinking of snow cover, disrupting river systems and threatening the fragile Himalayan ecosystem. These challenges are confronting society today and if things would be allowed to continue the ramifications will be disastrous.
With this study and many more in the past, it has become imperative for the governments both at the centre and in the UT of J&K to formulate robust climate policies, enforce environmental laws and invest in sustainable development. It is a known fact looking at the past that governments’ policy responses often remain slow and inadequate, and therefore the society should take the charge and play the role in slowing the pace of ecological destruction. It will be too late, if the people will wait for the action from the government side. This situation should be avoided by all means as this will not be good for either people or the planet. The need of the hour is that the people should opt for sober and sustainable life choices which do not affect the environment; rather help it to rejuvenate as this is imperative for longevity of natural bounties in J&K and for that matter across the globe.
The ways by which this goal can be achieved include lowering consumption of energy, judicial use of water, and reducing unnecessary consumption of things obtained from nature. Such a lifestyle can make a meaningful difference in addressing the aforesaid problem. Equally important is the need to plant more and more trees.
All said and done, the people should adopt a life which is environment friendly to reverse the damage and make J&K liveable for the upcoming generations.
