- Changthang’s nomadic Changpa pastoralists are facing rising livestock losses due to erratic snowfall, extreme cold, fodder scarcity and shrinking pastures.
- Changing weather patterns linked to climate change are disrupting traditional migration routes, increasing vulnerability and pushing many herders to abandon pastoralism.
- While the Integrated Wool Development Program has allocated funds for Pashmina development in the region, the lack of insurance and disease outbreaks among Pashmina goats, threaten the herding systems.
Tsering Namgayal walks with a herd of Pashmina goats across the Debring plains of the Changthang plateau in Ladakh. The land stretches wide under the bright sun, as a cold wind sweeps across this trans-Himalayan high ground. Dust rises in small clouds over the herd as the goats, also known as Changthangi goats, tap the frozen ground and bleat. The air carries the scent of soil, grass, and pashmina wool.
This visibly harsh and cold landscape has sustained the Changpas, the nomadic pastoralists of Changthang, for centuries. Their lives are intertwined with the changing seasons and movement of herds. However, these seasonal patterns are now changing.
Namgayal pauses during a grazing halt alongside other herders. Among them is Tobgah Dorjee, who is preparing to leave Changthang, possibly forever. Tobgah plans to sell his 54 Pashmina goats and move to Leh, where he hopes to find work as a construction labourer.
Between March and April 2025, Tobgah lost 80 Pashmina goats to extreme weather. Several Changpa families from the nearby Puga Valley were migrating towards Kharnak, a seasonal movement, when unexpected heavy snowfall buried the grazing grass. An extreme cold spell killed newborn goats, shrinking herds within days and turning a routine journey into a struggle for survival.
Spread across 35,000 square kilometres, Changthang, that spans Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh in India as well as Tibet, is home to a scattered population of pastoralists who depend primarily on pashmina wool and dairy products obtained from the goats, for their livelihood.
Across Changthang, erratic weather linked to climate change is disrupting pastoral life, killing livestock, shrinking pastures, and forcing pastoralist families to reconsider a way of life practiced for generations.
Erratic weather and livestock deaths
Thousands of livestock in Changthang died during the critical cold spell in February and March last year. The Sustainable Environment and Ecological Development Society (SEEDS), a Delhi-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), noted that from February 10 to March 31, 2025, Changthang residents documented substantial livestock losses which included 5,888 sheep and goats.
Following the snowfall, SEEDS initiated a pilot anticipatory action to prepare communities for climate-related disasters. “We distributed cattle feed and barley to the three fully nomadic communities of Rupso, Kharnak, and Korzok,” said Yazdi Rahman, the programme lead at the NGO.
“Later, we held workshops and training programmes to teach the Changpa community the dos and don’ts during such calamities.” It was also found that nutritional stress was a primary driver of livestock mortality.
Over the past few years, erratic and unpredictable weather has taken a heavy toll on this population. Untimely heavy snowfall, irregular rainfall, occasional cloudbursts, and long dry spells have damaged the natural pastures that feed sheep and Pashmina goats, leaving herders exposed to increasing risks.
Tobgah and Namgayal have had to change centuries-old migration routes in search of new pastures to sustain their herds. “It feels like this land is changing every year,” says Tobgah.
The reasons for fodder scarcity
Pashmina is a high-quality cashmere wool and is one of the most luxurious and softest wools, with fibres between 12 and 16 micrometres in one diametre.
At an altitude ranging from 4,000 to 7,000 metres above sea level, Changpas have been moving for decades, staying at each pasture for 20 to 30 days and following the traditional calendar of snowfall, rainfall, and winter and summer grazing grounds.
Dechean Chosnet, a researcher at the University of Kashmir studying climate change impacts on Changthang pastoralists, observes that warming temperatures have prompted herders to begin their spring migration as early as March.
“But there is a catch,” she says. “Winter pastures are under growing pressure due to large-scale development projects in both Puga Valley and Tso-Kar. This forces herders to move early, and when climate events such as untimely snowfall or flash floods occur, the community is unprepared, and livestock die.”
Sonam Lotus, head of the Meteorological Department in Leh, adds that over the last three to four years, Changthang has seen heavy snowfall in March and April, months traditionally marked by strong winds. “This sudden snowfall drastically lowers temperatures and leads to high infant mortality among Pashmina goats,” he says.
Lotus added that reduced or absent rainfall and snowfall during critical seasons has weakened pasture regeneration, leading to acute fodder shortages. Sudden heavy rain and snowmelt have triggered flash floods, damaging grazing lands, livestock shelters, and migratory routes. “These combined climatic extremes create severe fodder scarcity, forcing pastoralists to either reduce their herd size or undertake distress migration,” he says.
Increasing vulnerability
Herders allege that assistance from the Animal and Sheep Husbandry Department often arrives only after livestock deaths have occurred. “During heavy snowfall and flash floods, the help comes after 10 days, and the cattle feed is never enough because the grass is unavailable during these climate extremes,” Namgayal says. “We do not even have an insurance scheme for our livestock.”
Tsering Lamchung, an official with the Sheep Husbandry Department, noted that climate change impacts have become a major challenge for sustainable pastoralism in Changthang.
“There is a pressing need for climate-resilient pasture management, fodder support systems, early warning mechanisms, and adaptive livelihood strategies to protect the socio-economic well-being of nomadic communities here,” he adds. While noting that the data is limited, Lamchung shared that available records show a sharp rise in livestock mortality. Around 7,151 animals died in 2017-2018, while by 2021-2022, the figure had climbed to approximately 21,000.
“Extreme cold, sudden weather changes, and strong winds weaken the immunity of Pashmina goats, making them highly susceptible to respiratory infections,” he says. “Currently, Changthang is facing an outbreak of Contagious Caprine Pleuropneumonia (CCPP), aggravated by harsh climatic conditions, and we do not yet have a CCPP vaccine,” he added.
To support pastoralists, Lamchung says the department provides fodder during adverse climatic conditions and before winter. “In 2024-25, around 1,000 quintals of fodder were distributed to the community,” he says. “Additionally, concentrated feed is provided at a 75% subsidy each year, and about 6,750 quintals have been distributed (until now) in the financial year 2025-2026.”
Ecological and economic pressures
To tackle the economic challenges, Changpas have adopted strategies to boost wool production and income. However, the expansion of herds has placed more stress on the delicate arid rangelands, leading to overgrazing, trampling, and erosion of the soil. Between 1997 and 2019, goat populations increased by 45%, while sheep populations fell by 26%.
Chosnet notes that previously herders maintained a mixed ratio of sheep and goats at 50:50 in a traditional herd. “The equal size of both animals helped keep the Pashmina goats warm,” she says. “However, due to reduced grazing areas caused by climate change and security concerns near the Line of Actual Control (LAC), sheep numbers have fallen to just 30% of the herd.”
Lamchung notes that the combined sheep and goat population in the Leh district was 3,02,760 in 2014 and declined to 2,97,840 in 2024. Meanwhile in Changthang, there are almost 200,000 Pashmina goats and 48,000 sheep are currently reared by pastoralists, according to estimates from Feroz Din Sheikh, a scientist from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) Leh.
In 2021, the Ministry of Textiles sanctioned around ₹29 crore (₹290 million) under the Integrated Wool Development Program (IWDP) to promote Pashmina trade in Ladakh. A Lok Sabha question answered in July 2025 noted that ₹18.56 crores (₹185 million) have been released for the purpose of Pashmina development in Ladakh and that over ₹14 crores (₹140 million) have already been utilised by the implementing agencies.
Lamchung stated that the Sheep Husbandry Department received around ₹9 crores (₹90 million) of the money that has been released and that the remaining has been disbursed to other allied departments that support Pashmina development, including skill development and infrastructure.
Uncertain futures
Living near the Line of Actual Control in Chushul village, Tashi Dorjee, a herder, says that only 40 of the 150 nomadic families continue pastoralism. Others have migrated to Leh or are working as porters for the Army.
“Changing weather patterns across the Himalayas are affecting food security among pastoralist communities, who rely entirely on their cattle products for sustenance,” says Feroz Din.
He adds that in the next two decades, the younger generation may not be willing to endure the harsh winters and the hardships brought on by climate change. “Many have already left Changthang for education,” he says. “We have proposed a model called Commercial Community Pastoralism Farming, where the government hires youth under a salary package. This would preserve traditional pastoralism, while providing them with a secure future.”
Focusing on Himalayan pastures, a report from the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) states that many Himalayan countries have overlooked the role of livestock in development and have failed to appreciate the efficacy of traditional pastoral systems. “There is an urgent need for policies that support local communities, the true custodians of high-altitude ecosystems,” Din says.
He continues, “With 2026 declared the International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists, the United Nations aims to protect their social, economic, cultural, and environmental rights. In Ladakh, nomadic pastoralists continue their silent struggle for survival and recognition.”
Read more: Pastoral grief in the high Himalayan rangelands [Commentary]
Banner image: Tashi Dorje shears a sheep with traditional scissors at a temporary enclosure in Kharnak, Changthang plains. Image by Safeena Wani.
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