Kashmir faces extreme heatwave, air coolers sell like hot cakes

Kashmir’s independent weather analysts note that heatwaves and prolonged dry spells are not entirely new to the region.

This summer, as Kashmir swelters under record-breaking temperatures and an unrelenting heatwave, the once-rarely seen air cooler has become a staple in households across the Valley. In both rural and urban areas of Kashmir, people are increasingly turning to water-based air coolers due to their affordability, typically priced under Rs. 10,000, and wide availability.

Before the introduction of smart power meters in Kashmir in 2022-23, people mostly relied on fans or air conditioners. However, with the rising cost of electricity and the high investment required for air conditioners, many are now turning to air coolers, which can run on inverters and consume significantly less power.

According to home appliance dealers in the Valley, demand for air coolers surged tremendously since May this year, when Srinagar recorded its highest May temperature in nearly six decades at 34.4 degrees Celsius.

In June, the Valley recorded a scorching 35.5 degrees Celsius on June 20, the hottest June day in two decades. The city also logged a minimum temperature of 23.2 degrees Celsius, the fourth-highest ever recorded in 134 years.

Barely five days later, on June 25, Srinagar woke up to a minimum temperature of 25.0 degrees Celsius, the highest ever recorded in June, making early mornings feel as hot as late May afternoons. With average daytime temperatures now around 29.2 degrees Celsius, the city experienced weather usually felt during the peak of summer.

In a rare shift from historical weather trends, Srinagar also surpassed Jammu in temperature on June 22, with the city recording a sweltering 34.8 degrees Celsius, significantly higher than Jammu’s 33.0 degrees Celsius, underscoring an unusual meteorological event for the region.

Weather analysts attribute the current heatwave in the Himalayan region, including Kashmir, to climate change driven by global warming. They cite contributing factors such as rapid urbanisation, a surge in construction, pollution from automobiles and cement industries, over-tourism, and the burning of fossil fuels.

J&K, according to Global Forest Watch, lost 4.09 thousand hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2022, representing a 0.38% decrease since 2000.

Kashmir’s independent weather analysts note that while heatwaves and prolonged dry spells are not entirely new to Kashmir, having occurred sporadically even 50 to 100 years ago, their increasing frequency and intensity in recent years is cause for concern. In the past, extreme weather events were rare, often occurring only once in several decades. Today, however, these events are becoming more recurrent and widespread, signalling a clear shift in climatic patterns likely linked to global warming and human-induced environmental changes.

These shifts spell trouble for the fragile Himalayan environment, public health, and climate resilience in one of India's most sensitive regions.

According to data compiled by Moneycontrol from various sources, including Kashmir’s meteorological department, the frequency of extreme weather events in the Kashmir Valley, an ecologically fragile region, has increased significantly over the past decade. For example, records reveal that on February 28, 2016, Kashmir experienced its warmest February day in over seven decades, with temperatures reaching 20.06 degrees Celsius. Just a few years later, on August 17, 2020, the Valley logged its hottest August day in nearly four decades at 35.07 degrees Celsius.

The trend continued in July 2021, when temperatures soared to 35.0 degrees Celsius—the highest for that month in eight years, underscoring a pattern of increasingly frequent and intense heat events.

Multiple scientific studies over the past two decades have documented a consistent warming trend in Kashmir, an ecologically sensitive region in the western Himalayas. A 37-year analysis (1980–2016) by researchers at the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir, found that the region experienced an overall annual temperature increase of 0.8 degrees Celsius, with maximum temperatures rising by 0.97 degrees Celsius and minimum temperatures by 0.76°C.

Further, a 2022 SKUAST Kashmir study indicated that between 1980 and 2020, mean maximum temperatures rose by about 2.0 degrees Celsius and mean minimum temperatures by approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius. An earlier report published in 2007 by the advocacy group ActionAid also pointed to a 1.45-degree Celsius rise in average temperatures in Kashmir.

Complementing these findings, a 2013 study conducted by the Department of Geography and Regional Development at the University of Kashmir found that seasonal average temperatures between 1991 and 2005 were significantly higher compared to the 1961–1990 baseline. According to the findings, winter temperatures rose by about 1.0 degree, spring temperatures by 0.4 degrees, and summer temperatures by 0.3 degrees, contributing to an overall annual increase of 0.4 degrees.

If the record-breaking weather trend continues, people who currently depend on air coolers, a portable cooling appliance for relief, may increasingly turn to air conditioners, seeking more powerful solutions to cope with the rising heat.

Weather analysts note that although Kashmir’s weather is influenced by the Mediterranean Sea and the southwest monsoon, unchecked hillside construction, heavy use of private and public transport, carbon emissions, and the burning of fossil fuels could further drive rising temperatures.

The changing weather patterns in Kashmir are not only disrupting daily life but also raising serious concerns about their impact on key sectors of the valley’s economy. Climate change-driven dry and hot conditions have proven harmful to agriculture, horticulture, hydropower generation, and tourism.

Both farmers and agricultural scientists blame the record-breaking extreme weather events for damaging Kashmir’s main cash crops—apples, saffron, and paddy—leading to significant losses for farmers.

Following consecutive dry and snowless winters and terribly hot summers, Kashmir, home to lakes, rivers, and springs, is witnessing water scarcity, ringing alarm bells about its water resources. For instance, a study by Srinagar’s Directorate of Environment, Ecology, and Remote Sensing reveals that over 50% of water bodies in and around Srinagar city have disappeared over the past century.

Alarmingly, in rural areas, people are now buying packaged drinking water from the market, a situation previously unseen in Kashmir.

A recent study by Dr. Irfan Rashid, a senior assistant professor in the Department of Geo-informatics at the University of Kashmir, highlights the alarming rate at which glaciers in the Valley are melting. The Kolahoi glacier, the largest in the Kashmir Himalayas, has shrunk by 23% since 1962 and has broken into smaller fragments. This glacier plays a vital role as a primary water source for the Jhelum River. Its meltwater is essential for irrigating key crops such as cereals, dry fruits, saffron, and apples, which are central to the region’s agriculture. The ongoing retreat of glaciers like Kolahoi threatens to disrupt the delicate balance of food production, water availability, and energy generation, posing serious risks to Kashmir’s environmental and economic stability.