Prolonged heat wave affecting water bodies, agri sector: Experts

Srinagar, Sep 16: The dry weather and excessive heat wave in September is affecting Kashmir’s vital water bodies, lakes, wetlands, agriculture and allied sectors, experts said on Saturday predicting serious repercussions in the future.
The valley is witnessing record-breaking severe heat waves. Two days ago Srinagar recorded a maximum temperature of 34 degrees which is the second highest maximum temperature ever recorded since 1891.
Ajaz Rasool, a Kashmir-based hydraulic engineering expert and environmentalist said the current dry weather pattern has affected the drinking water supply both in urban and rural areas.
“The water level of lakes and rivers in Kashmir has decreased. This is happening due to the climate change which we are seeing. We have recorded the highest day temperature at 34 degrees which should have been just 26 degrees. This is a severe spell of hot weather in September,” he said.
“This is not the time for the weather to be hot. We are seeing that pests have grown in apple orchards in south Kashmir and there is uncontrolled attack of pests on fruits and fruits have spoiled,” he said.
Ajaz said the hot and dry weather pattern has also affected agriculture including local maize and other vegetables due to the lack of irrigation and rainfall.
The environmentalist said the continuous dry weather has dried up wetlands in Kashmir adding that even Dal Lake and Nigeen Lake are not overflowing because of excessive heat.
“This is sort of a drought-like situation. These things often happen when there are droughts and everyday there are forecasts that suggest that the heat wave may continue,” he said.
The environmentalist said this clearly shows that the distribution of hydrological patterns is badly affected because of climate change and global warming.
The expert said this year in February India witnessed record hot temperature and it is happening due to the emission of fossil fuels in developed countries.
“Still the impact of climate change is not that much in Kashmir. There are countries and regions across the globe which witnessed floods and people faced water crises and they had to leave and settle somewhere else,” he said.
“It is the time to wake up and realise the issue. In 60 percent of the Himalayas there are no weather stations. It needs thorough study of weather and climate,” he said.
Director Indian Meteorological Centre Kashmir, Sonam Lotus said in Kashmir, September is the driest month adding however exceptions are always there.
“This year has been peculiar. So far the whole of September has been dry. There is a rain deficit. Because of the prolonged dry spell there is a sharp increase in day temperature,” he said.
“On Sep 12 Srinagar recorded a maximum temperature of 34.2°C, which is 6.0°C above normal. This is the 2nd highest maximum temperature ever recorded in September since 1891. It has broken 53 yrs. record of 33.8°C recorded on 01 September 1970,” he said.
While talking about the impact of climate change, Senior Assistant Professor Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir, Dr Irfan Rashid said in Kashmir the economy is dependent on water resources that come from glaciers.
“When there is any change in these water resources it affects agriculture, horticulture, hydropower generation which are the key sectors of economy in the valley,” he said.
Irfan said that the impact of climate change is visible as people have turned their paddy land to orchards. “Efficient public transport is one of such measures that can save the environment and glaciers. Government efforts are also important in this regard,” he said.
“The glaciers in Kashmir are the major source of water for irrigation of land by way of canals and water streams. These are dependent on glaciers. If glaciers melt the way they are, in future we will have a deficit of irrigation for agricultural land,” he said.