Category: Environment

Environment

Kashmir’s Iconic Dal Lake: A Tragic decline threatening its existence

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Kashmir's Iconic Dal Lake: A Tragic decline threatening its existence

By: Majid Maqbool Amid much fanfare last month, visiting G20 delegates arrived in Kashmir’s capital city Srinagar to attend a tourism working group meeting in a convention center overlooking the iconic Dal Lake, which has drawn tourists from across the world for decades for its stunning beauty. It is called variously the “Lake of Flowers,” the “Jewel in the crown of Kashmir” or “Srinagar’s Jewel.” Walter R. Lawrence, the British Resettlement Commissioner of Kashmir wrote in 1887 that “Perhaps in the whole world there is no corner as pleasant as…

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Kashmir is a popular tourist destination, but the unregulated tourist influx has led to an increase in pollution and waste disposal problems

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Kashmir is a popular tourist destination, and the number of tourists visiting the region has increased in recent years

Tourism is a small but important part of Kashmir’s economy. However, in the name of tourism, the government should not put the fragile and already-strained natural resources and public infrastructure in the region under even more pressure, lest it lead to a complete destruction of the beautiful valley, which is home to 7 million people. By: Raja Muzaffar Bhat Four years after India made Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) its youngest Union territory, the region is expected to receive around 2 crore (20 million) tourists this year. This was revealed by the lieutenant governor…

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Alarming increase in Fish Deaths in Dal Lake raises concerns, Authorities Label it as ‘Annual’ Occurrence

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Alarming increase in Fish Deaths in Dal Lake raises concerns, Authorities Label it as 'Annual' Occurrence

Dead Fishes Float In Dal Lake After G20 Beautification, Locals Blame Authorities Thousands of fish in the Dal Lake here have died over the past few days with authorities blaming a sudden fluctuation in temperature in the region. Dal Lake dwellers expressed alarm over such large-scale fish deaths even as authorities said the occurrence was an annual affair. “I received reports about the deaths of fish in Dal Lake yesterday. We sent a team to scout the lake for samples. We found that a lot of dead fish had collected around…

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Climate change may be cause apple crisis in Himachal and Kashmir

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Climate change may be cause apple crisis in Himachal and Kashmir

Climate change is causing bees, among nature’s primary pollinators, to die in Himachal Pradesh and the Kashmir Valley. This has led to major losses for apple growers in the two areas and could impact their respective economies, horticulturists have told. While apple production is estimated to decrease by about 30 per cent this time in Himachal Pradesh, 20 per cent loss is estimated in Kashmir. “This year, when it rained in mid-April, bees in our garden died in their boxes,” Marshall Thakur, an apple grower from Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, told.…

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Climate Change increases likelihood of Heatwaves in Asia by 30 Times

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Climate Change increases likelihood of Heatwaves in Asia by 30 Times

Scientists warn of escalating heatwave risks due to global warming The record breaking humid heat wave that hit east and north India; Bangladesh; Laos and Thailand in April were made at least 30 times more likely by climate change, a rapid attribution analysis said on Wednesday. The analysis by an international team of scientists with the World Weather Attribution group said a highly vulnerable population was subjected to a deadly combination of high heat and humidity which amplified the impacts in early summer this year. Large populations across South Asia…

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Alarm bells ring as exotic Alligator Gar Fish found in Dal Lake

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Alarm bells ring as exotic Alligator Gar Fish found in Dal Lake

Capturing of a fish resembling the Alligator gar fish in the Dal lake here has sent alarm bells ringing among the scientists who fear that the presence of non-native fish species could spell doom on the eco-fragile flora and fauna of the water body. The Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) captured the alligator-shaped fish during the deweeding of Dal Lake near Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) on May 12. The video of the unique fish went viral taking people as well as scientists by surprise. Talking to KIF, Executive Engineer…

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Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh receive excess rainfall in April following a deficit from January to March

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Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh receive excess rainfall in April following a deficit from January to March

After three months of deficit rainfall, Jammu and Kashmir as well as Ladakh received above normal rainfall in the month of April, officials said. The data provided by the meteorological department’s (MeT) local centre, the union territories collectively received 113 mm of average precipitation in April against a normal of 99.5 mm – registering an increase of 13%. “The month of April witnessed just above normal rainfall of 112.9 mm after three months of deficit precipitation,” the centre’s deputy director Mukhtar Ahmad said, adding that the months of March and…

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Polythene Clogging up Kashmir’s Natural Wonders, from Deepest Lake to Tallest Mountain

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Polythene Clogging up Kashmir's Natural Wonders, from Deepest Lake to Tallest Mountain

Polythene is showing up in the darkest depths of the oceans, at the summit of tallest mountains and even the polar ice caps, thus aggravating already pressing environmental concerns. It came as a surprise to me while researching for this story that polythene was discovered by accident, and that too not once but twice. The first of these incidents took place just before the turn of the twentieth century in the year 1900; German scientist Hans von Pechmann discovered a residue in his test tube but discarded it thinking that…

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Wild boar population surges in Kashmir, Wildlife experts raise concerns

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Wild boar population surges in Kashmir, Wildlife experts raise concerns

Wild boars have staged a massive comeback across the Valley after vanishing in mid-80’s completely. Even though experts believe global warming may be the reason for resurgence of the wild animal, they sounded alarm stating the boars can affect the Hangul’s habitat besides damaging the crops of every nature. Wildlife warden Shopain Intisaar Suhail, who has co-authored a publication on wild-boars, are not the native animal. “It was introduced in some areas of Kashmir like Dachigam by the then Maharaja for hunting. Then it started to decline and in mid…

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J&K’s Forests under threat: Immediate action needed to prevent irreversible damage

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J&K's Forests under threat: Immediate action needed to prevent irreversible damage

By: Dr. Showkat Rashid Wani The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests in 2012 to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests. The Directorate of Distance Education had deputed some of its students to MET Higher Secondary School for Practice of teaching. During inspection the author of this article saw a creative sketch on forest degradation by one of the students. The student had got an idea from the CBSE Class 9 English Beehive book of her cousin containing…

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