Tribals In Distress As Summer Snow Hits Livestock In Jammu And Kashmir Mountains
The unseasonal snow at the higher reaches of Kashmir has forced the herders return from highland pastures to sub alpines.
Published : June 5, 2025 at 4:57 PM IST
Srinagar: Untimely summer snow has severely hit pastoral communities in the higher reaches of Jammu and Kashmir, resulting in loss of livestock.
For centuries, the nomadic Bakerwal communities have been practicing biannual migration between mountains and plains for grazing their livestock.
Nearly 700,000 people are part of this practice now where they trek hundreds of kilometers, herding their livestock between alpine pastures in Kashmir and Ladakh starting April-May and reverse migration plains in Jammu in September-October.
But Director Sheep Husbandry Kashmir Dr Rafiq Ahmad Shah said the pastoralists have returned from highland pastures to sub alpines after the untimely snow.
Majority of people who were on peaks have suffered losses particularly in Pir Panjal mountain range, where scores of tribal families shifted since May, Dr Shah added.
In Kashmir, however, the losses appear to be comparatively less as the migration to highland pastures was delayed following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, he added.
“Only a few hundred families had reached top peaks in Kashmir but they have been brought down to sub alpines now due to extreme cold and snow,” Dr Shah added, describing it as a ‘worrying trend’. “It will trigger economic losses for now as livestock can’t thrive at sub alpines and can cause overgrazing there”.
Many videos on social media showed distraught tribal families narrating their ordeal of losses caused by the snow in Pir Panjal mountain range falling in Chenab region.
The remote highland pastures are out of mobile communication networks and tribals posted these videos once they descended down to lower areas, said tribal activist Talib Hussain who posted one such video on Facebook.
“The videos reflect only a few losses as the remotest peaks are out of bounds. Snow has caused the death of sheep, goats and donkeys in mountains,” said Hussain.
Teams of veterinarians and medical staff have been dispatched to mountains for assisting the communities in mountains, a senior doctor said. He said the losses appear to be more in Pir Panjal region compared to Kashmir.
A Gujjar leader and a legislator Mian Mehar Ali said he is monitoring the situation and has sought assistance from administration in compensating losses.
In the last decade, extreme weather events like the untimely summer have been disrupting the annual migration of tribals who are dependent on livestock for their livelihood, said tribal researcher Dr Javid Rahi.
Between 2010 and 2022, Jammu and Kashmir recorded 168 extreme weather events including untimely snow, according to official estimates.
But the lack of mobile communication and timely weather alerts in remote Himalayan mountainous range is worsening the situation, said a senior doctor who has stayed in highland pastures with pastoralists.
In the current spell, Director Meteorological Centre Kashmir Dr Mukhtar Ahmad admits there was no forecast of snow but describes them as ‘rare weather’ events.
The official weather alert predicted thunderstorms with rains but Dr Ahmad said once rains persisted for more than two days, snowfall is bound to occur in mountains, describing it part of climate change. “The same weather pattern occurred in June 2019 and 2023 as well,” he said.
A veterinarian who visited the affected area in Kashmir soon after the untimely snow said loss of livestock is imminent but the snow leaves a long term impact.
“The non-availability of grass due to snow cover may lead to starvation of animals. The dip in temperature results in stunted growth of grass and turns it yellow for some time affecting grazing of livestock,” he added.
The nutritional stress, according to doctors, may affect animals to gain weight for which they migrate to highland pastures.
“Highland pasture grasses are highly nutritious and have medicinal properties. It usually prevents many diseases caused by nutritional stress,” said the senior doctor. “But the dip in temperature and snow results in stunted growth of grass and turns it yellow for some time affecting grazing of livestock.”
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