{"id":20889,"date":"2026-05-25T18:37:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:37:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/?p=20889"},"modified":"2026-05-25T18:37:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:37:24","slug":"jk-nomads-bear-brunt-of-unusual-climate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/2026\/05\/25\/jk-nomads-bear-brunt-of-unusual-climate\/","title":{"rendered":"J&K nomads bear brunt of unusual climate"},"content":{"rendered":"

Srinagar, May 25:\u00a0<\/strong>Every summer, long serpentine caravans of sheep, goats and horses begin climbing the rugged mountain tracks of Jammu and Kashmir as the nomadic Gujjar and Bakarwal communities undertake their centuries-old transhumance migration towards the high-altitude Himalayan meadows.<\/p>\n

But this year, the journey has turned harsh and uncertain. Unusual snowfall, repeated hailstorms and incessant rain over the past several weeks have disrupted the traditional migration routes, leaving thousands of nomadic families struggling to protect their livestock \u2014 their only source of livelihood.<\/p>\n

From Gurez to Sonamarg and the upper reaches near Zoji La, fresh snowfall has continued well into late May, while evening hailstorms have become a near-daily phenomenon across several parts of Kashmir.<\/p>\n

The mountains, which usually open into green grazing pastures by this time of the year, still remain partially buried under snow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have never seen weather like this in recent years. Every evening there is hailstorm or heavy rain. Our animals are weak, the routes are slippery and many families are stuck midway,\u201d said Mohammad Yousuf, a Bakarwal herder moving towards the upper reaches of Sonamarg with nearly 300 sheep.<\/p>\n

Wrapped in a traditional pheran and standing beside drenched livestock near a temporary roadside camp, Yousuf said the changing weather has increased fear among nomadic families.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spend nights in the open mountains. The children are shivering and the animals have no proper grass to graze because the meadows are still under snow,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The worsening weather recently triggered a major tragedy in south Kashmir\u2019s Pahalgam area where more than 69 livestock animals were killed after lightning struck a pasture during heavy rain and thunderstorm.<\/p>\n

For many nomadic families, such losses are devastating.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne animal feeds an entire household. Losing dozens of sheep means losing a year\u2019s income,\u201d said 55-year-old tribal elder Abdul Rashid near Baltal. \u201cThe weather has become completely unpredictable now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The annual migration, locally known as Baharwal, is a vital seasonal movement in which Gujjar and Bakarwal tribes travel hundreds of kilometres from the plains of Jammu towards the alpine dhoks of Kashmir in search of fresh grasslands for grazing.<\/p>\n

Traditionally, the migration follows a predictable rhythm shaped by weather and mountain conditions. However, tribal communities say climate patterns have changed drastically in recent years.<\/p>\n

\u201cEarlier snowfall would end by April in many places, but this year even late May looks like winter in the mountains,\u201d said Shabir Ahmed, another shepherd from Rajouri district. \u201cEvery evening dark clouds gather suddenly and hail starts falling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The harsh weather has also slowed the movement of caravans along steep mountain passes, forcing many families to halt for days along highways and forest routes.<\/p>\n

At several makeshift camps near Sonamarg, smoke rose from damp firewood as women prepared meals inside temporary tarpaulin shelters while children huddled beside livestock to escape the cold winds.<\/p>\n

Officials from the Meteorological Department have predicted more rain, thunderstorms and hailstorm activity in the coming days, while fresh snowfall continues in higher reaches.<\/p>\n

For Kashmir\u2019s nomadic tribes, the changing weather is no longer just a seasonal inconvenience \u2014 it is becoming a growing threat to a way of life carried through generations across the Himalayas\u2014(KNO)<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Srinagar, May 25:\u00a0Every summer, long serpentine caravans of sheep, goats and horses begin climbing the rugged mountain tracks of Jammu and Kashmir as the nomadic Gujjar and Bakarwal communities undertake their centuries-old transhumance migration towards the high-altitude Himalayan meadows. But this year, the journey has turned harsh and uncertain. Unusual snowfall, repeated hailstorms and incessant […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":20890,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20889"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20891,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20889\/revisions\/20891"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20890"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kashmirthunder.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}