By Vishal Gulati
Shimla, Feb 5 (IANS): Planning to head to the Himachal Pradesh capital to enjoy the snowy landscape? You will be disappointed, as declining forest cover and rise in pollution have rendered this hill destination unusually 'warm' this winter with long sunny days.
This is for the first time in many years that the 'Queen of Hills', as Shimla was fondly called by the British, is almost bereft of snow cover and parched too.
An official with the local Meteorological Centre told IANS on Saturday that only Shimla's Mount Jakhu (the highest peak in the town) received mild snowfall this season, while commercial centre Mall Road, the historic Ridge and the US Club are yet to get snow cover.
However, even in the Jakhu area the snow melted within a few hours.
Under the guise of climate "skepticism", most of the locals narrate the tale of indiscriminate construction that has turned the summer retreat of the then British rulers into a concrete jungle in the past few decades.
To highlight that climate change is already having visible effects on Shimla's precipitation patterns, old-timers have shared their photos posing with a cone of ice-cream in the backdrop of the British-era Christ Church on the social media.
Octogenarian Shyam Saran Begta, who was born and brought up in Shimla, said the British had dug several wells in Mount Jakhu where the snow is stored during the winter. The wells helped in recharging the groundwater, which enabled spouting of perennial springs in the peak summer.
"Where have those wells gone? Now multi-storeyed concrete structures are standing on them. The forest cover has declined, so the noticeable change in weather patterns," he said.
Sounding alarm bells on climate change, another old-timer Ramesh Thakur said icicles are missing this year from Shimla's landscape.
"We feel a delight to see these hanging icicles outside windows," Thakur, who lives in Jakhu hills, told IANS while pointing towards a smoke chimney, once the city's landmark on heritage buildings.
"The icicles were the common feature till the 1980s and they were five-six feet long at that time. Now their size has drastically reduced," he added.
Icicle, a pendent spear of ice formed by the freezing of dripping rooftop water, indicates a harsh winter.
Hospitality industry representatives are worried about their businesses. They say lack of snow can impact tourism as the town draws a large number of holiday-makers from across northern India.
According to the Meteorological Centre, Shimla saw 102.4 cm of snowfall in eight days in January 2022, while there was no snow in January 2021. This year Shimla saw just scanty snow of 6 cm on January 13, while there was no snowfall in December 2022.
In January in the years 2009 to 2022, the highest spell of 14 days was recorded in 2012 in Shimla when a total 95 cm of snow was recorded.
Some residents have been wondering if the rise in minimum temperatures in recent years in winter is a result of global warming, though scientists have said the overall warming trend should not have any effect on local weather on such short-time scales, as per current models.
Currently, most of the tourist destinations like Shimla, Kufri, Kasauli, Chail, Dharamsala, Palampur and Manali have been witnessing long sunny days.
Richa and Abhishek Pathak, a couple from Mumbai, said they have come to enjoy snowy landscapes. "Our travel agent is advising us to travel to Narkanda as it is still wrapped in snow."
"Now we don't want to travel further. So we are enjoying long sunny days in Shimla," Richa said.
The far-off mountain peaks viewed from Shimla's historic Ridge have been wrapped in a thick white blanket of snow, she added.
Experts blame deforestation for the change in Shimla's climatic conditions.
A study by the local Met Department has confirmed the fears. The study examined the snowfall trend in Shimla in the past 20 years. It concluded that Shimla's harsh winter, which normally commenced in November and ended in March, has declined after the mid-1980s.
"The snowfall pattern has undergone a drastic change after 1991 with the snowing days shrinking at a rate of 11 days per decade," said the study.
Published in the Journal of Agro-meteorology, the study said the decadal average overall precipitation from December to March has declined from 283.9 mm (1991 to 2001) to 235.1 mm (2002 to 2010-11). The quantum of snow has come down and most of the precipitation was in the form of rain.
Even the percentage of snowfall to the total precipitation during this period has declined to 30 from 39.
The snowfall trend has also changed. "The snowfall is being recorded more in February in Shimla than in December and January," said the study.
Octogenarian skater Mohan Lal Sud, who has been a Shimla native for over 60 years, told IANS: "Earlier, the children used to take out sledges with the onset of winter in November. Sledging on the snow-laden streets of Shimla was once their favourite pastime. It's now in the memory albums only."
The shift in temperatures and weather patterns reminds of Vivek Mohan's 30-minute documentary "For Whom the Jingle Bells Toll" that is based on climate change in Shimla during Christmas. It showcases how Shimla is slowly but surely moving out of the seasonal snowline.
Mohan, who is now based in Mumbai but spent his childhood tramping through the snow-laden streets of Shimla, asks: "Will there be a white Christmas or not?"