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It’s January at a Big Himalayan Resort. Where’s the Snow?
A dry winter has been devastating to Gulmarg, one of Asia’s highest ski resorts, in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
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Barren terrain in Gulmarg, in Indian-controlled Kashmir. This patch of land would usually be covered in snow this time of year. Credit...Dar Yasin/Associated Press
By Showkat Nanda and Sameer Yasir
Reporting from Srinagar, Kashmir, and New Delhi
Jan. 16, 2024
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Every morning, Ishfaaq Ahmad Malik, a ski instructor in Indian-controlled Kashmir, opens his bedroom window and, like many others in the region, wonders: Where is the snow?
“This has never happened before in January. Not in my lifetime,” said Mr. Malik, 65. “Definitely not in Gulmarg.”
Each winter, Gulmarg, one of Asia’s largest and highest ski resort towns, attracts thousands of skiers, many from as far away as Europe and the Americas, drawn by perfect powder, cheap hotels and breathtaking views of the Himalayas.
At 8,500 feet, this scrappy ski town’s miles of slopes are usually blanketed by snow from December to March and packed with snowboarders and skiers.
But this year, there is no snow.
Across Kashmir and other parts of the Himalayas in northern India, a prolonged dry spell is spreading fear among farmers, and threatening tourism and skiing industries that generate millions of dollars each year.
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Like much of South Asia, Kashmir is experiencing extreme weather patterns, including record summer heat waves that lead to rapid melting of glaciers that are a major water source for the region’s eight million people.
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Sameer Yasir covers news from India and other countries in the region. He is based in New Delhi. More about Sameer Yasir
A version of this article appears in print on Jan. 17, 2024, Section A, Page 11 of the New York edition with the headline: It’s January at a Big Himalayan Resort. Where’s the Snow? . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe
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