In Kashmir, ACs are selling like hot cakes

A Kashmiri vendor selling watermelons is seen through a hole in an ice block during a hot summer day in Srinagar. Watermelon and other fruits are in great demand during hot summers across the region. (File Photo: Reuters)

As the temperature rises in Kashmir with the onset of a usually salubrious summer that has been unusually hot this year, demand for air-conditioners, refrigerators, coolers and fans is increasing at a rapid pace.

This summer, for instance, sales of cooling products have more than doubled in the valley, dealers say, and some don’t have enough ACs to meet the demand.

A number of top dealers have logged record sales of around 1,000 ACs in the past two months, a 50% increase over the usual number, as the temperature started to rise in the valley where tourists used to flock in the summers to escape the scorching plains.

In the past decade, this is the first time that there’s such high demand for ACs, dealers said.

The months of June and July have brought an unexpectedly intense heat wave with the averaging maximum and minimum temperatures rising to as much as 32 degrees Celsius and the minimum to 21 degrees Celsius, according to the meteorological office.

With the mercury climbing to 34.3 degrees Celsius, Kashmir experienced the hottest day of the year in June. Typically, the temperature averages 25- 30 degrees Celsius in July and July.

“It’s pretty wild to imagine that in a cold place like Kashmir, individual dealers have sold over 600 air-conditioners on an average in the past one month,” said Mohammed Adnan Baba, director of Alba Power Private Limited, one of Kashmir’s leading electric appliance dealerships.

Experts are linking the unusually hot weather to climate change,  the phenomenon caused by the burning of fossil fuels that produces heat-trapping greenhouse gases which contribute to global warming.

Extreme weather  

Climate change has also manifested itself in unseasonal snowfall, heavy or scanty rainfall and hailstorms in recent years. In June, incessant rainfall threatened flooding only for the temperature to start rising again after a few days.

“This vicious temperature rise is certainly a result of climate change. We may not feel it but it’s a matter of worry,” says Dr. Mohammad Muslim, associate professor of environmental science at Kashmir University.

“We’ve to understand it holistically,” he added. “Kashmir’s weather is affected by two systems. We’ve the western disturbances and the Indian summer monsoon. These systems intensify for a certain period and then they retreat. However, due to climate change, this year, there has been a change in the intensity and the way these systems cast their influence on the weather.”

Dr. Muslim says Kashmir’s environment has been a victim of unplanned urbanisation in its fragile and ecosensitive areas, especially Srinagar city.

Mukhtar Ahmed, deputy director of the meteorological office in Srinagar, said there has undoubtedly been an increase in the intensity and frequency of climate variability and extreme weather events in Kashmir.

In the past, temperatures have soared up to 37 degrees Celsius in July, he noted.

“However, it isn’t the temperature only but the humidity that has caused discomfort to people this year. The humidity in June and July kept juggling between 60 percent and 70 percent,” said Ahmed.

Make hay while the sun shines 

Dealers in electric appliances aren’t complaining as sales of cooling gadgets increase rapidly in a region where the economy has been beset by a violent insurgency and political instability.

“Since June, sales of cooling gadgets have been very promising for our company, owing to the ongoing vicious heat wave that has triggered massive demand for air-conditioners in Kashmir,” said Baba of Alba Power.

The heat wave has boosted sales of other cooling gadgets like room coolers and fans this year. Alba Power’s monthly sales of room coolers touched 400 units and of fans 1,000 units, said Baba. The reason sales of air-conditioners have outpaced those of cheaper cooling appliances is that ACs can be used for heating in the winters as well.

A respite for dealers 

In the past 10 years, electronic appliance dealers have suffered losses because of unrest marked by violent protests ad clashes between government forces, especially in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2016 and 2019 and between March and September.

“This year, we’re witnessing a strong growth of more than 50% in cooling appliances, especially air-conditioners with a small-scale dealers selling about 10-20 ACs everyday while a big-scale dealer sells more than 70 air conditioners on an average,” said Yawar Yaseen, a Srinagar-based electronic appliances dealer.

The ongoing heat wave may be a turn-off for residents, but for dealers like him, it has come as a respite, Yaseen said.

Supply constraints 

The higher demand has meant a shortage of ACs amid supply constraints in the valley, Yaseen said,

“Our companies have asked us to wait till the new consignment can be delivered. We’re in constant touch with brands but it looks like that the only solution with us and customers is to wait,” says Aijaz Ahmed Punjabi, owner of Cute Electronics, a popular retailer of electronics in Srinagar.

An executive at Blue Star told Moneycontrol that the company had a few registered dealers in Kashmir and had supplied over 1,000 ACs in the past three months.

“We used to supply over 400 ACs to our dealers but this year the demand is definitely high than in previous years,” said the executive, who didn’t want to be named.

MoneyControl reached out to the Refrigeration and Air-Cconditioner Manufacturing Association of India (RAMA) to check the demand and supply situation of cooling appliances in Kashmir. Officials at RAMA said they weren’t in a position to respond to queries.

Many customers told MoneyControl that in these hot temperatures, fans and room coolers aren’t effective as ACs, although the cheaper cooling agents are available on demand.

“I didn’t find any difference between the weather in New Delhi and Kashmir. When fans don’t work (effectively), we switch on the AC. Same is happening in Kashmir now—-thus the demand,” said Sakeena Jaan, a Kashmiri who lives in Delhi now.