The old houses of the Kashmir Valley are living examples of climate-resilient and sustainable architecture. When a massive flood hit the valley in 2014, a major part of downtown Srinagar,…
In the vast saffron-growing land of Pampore, a national highway (NH44) cuts through the middle. Ishfaq Ahmad, a saffron grower, is pondering the future of this land. His eyes are…
The dazzling yellow bloom of the gul toor, has been a sight to soothe sore eyes in Kashmir. After a protracted winter where this colour is largely missing, this yellow…
Away from the city noise, the Sallar forest in southern Kashmir’s Anantnag district retains an essence of spring even in the harsh December winter. The diffused sun rays with fog,…
It was a foggy afternoon in December, and people – young and old – were walking uphill to reach the Chest and Disease (CD) hospital at Dalgate, Srinagar. Visibly straining,…
On the foothills of the Himalayas, covered in striking forests, a shy animal with refined marbling is battling to survive. The wild hangul, a totem of charm in Kashmir, is…
Sheikh Mohammad Sultan, a saffron grower in his sixties is uncertain about the future of the saffron industry in the Kashmir valley. Sultan and his family, while plucking saffron flowers,…
The glaciers in the western Himalayas, source of water for Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, have been melting at a significant rate due to the growing amount of black carbon aerosol…
Noora walks past the Astan Nag, a local spring located in Burzhama area of Srinagar in Kashmir. She pauses for a while and starts walking towards the spring. Visiting it…
Several women scientists from Kashmir are at the forefront of research to tackle changing climatic patterns that threaten local ecologies, livelihoods and networks that sustain them. Scientists Nasheeman Ashraf, Ulfat…
In the village of Brah, in South Kashmir’s Anantnag district, Mudasir Ahmad, a 32-year-old farmer is considering giving up farming since he has been incurring losses for many years now.…
More than half a dozen hydropower projects are under various stages of development on the Chenab river in the Kashmir of India, even though there have been repeated warnings from…
“No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn,” says author Hal Borland. But it seems in 2022, spring forgot its annual appointment with northern India as a usually pleasant…
Reena Devi used to spend a good six to seven hours in one day, in the jungle around her house in Koti, Shimla, until last year. She would leave her…
Glaciers at Pangong region in Union Territory Ladakh have receded 6.7 percent for the last three decades, according to recent research with experts warning of serious consequences on the ecology…
Himachal Pradesh, a state that has five important perennial rivers fed particularly by glaciers, has witnessed a decline in snowfall over the past year. The area under snow cover in…
Taking serious note of rampant dumping of road construction/widening wastes in river Chenab and Tawi, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to…
The aquatic life in the freshwater streams of Kashmir faces threats from riverbed mining and rising pollution. Increasing mechanised riverbed mining in the river Jhelum and its tributaries, to extract…
Biodiversity, the variety of life across genes, species and populations, plays an integral role in ensuring food security, ecosystem function, and human well-being. Amid alarming reports of skyrocketing species extinction…
In March 2021, a census conducted in Kashmir to estimate the population of the hangul (Kashmir stag), showed encouraging initial findings. According to the Department of Wildlife Protection, the population…