How climate change is affecting apples in Himachal’s Kinnaur dist
SHIMLA : On April 16, Roshan Lal Negi woke up to find snow carpeting the courtyard of his home in Jangi village. Boys with smartphones quickly made videos to share on WhatsApp but more than a month later, the snow -- now filthy -- still sits on lower parts of most peaks in Kinnaur district in Himachal.
Particles from a dust storm in the northern plains might have travelled to Kinnaur and mixed with the unseasonal snowfall, suggests Manmohan Singh, Director of the meteorological centre in Shimla, giving the dusty appearance. The jury is still out, but most agree that this rain shadow region is experiencing a drastic shift in its weather patterns.
Rains are increasing, snowfall is declining, and temperatures are rising, which all have great impact on an area prone to landslides and fed by glacial melt.
“Nobody in cities is bothered about what’s happening in Kinnaur. We are frequently facing such unusual weather events,” Negi says.
Droughts and excess rainfall are more frequent and more intensely felt due to the shift in farming, from coarse grains to commercial plantations of apple and green peas.
Winter snowfall is also now more spread out. “The heavy snow in December and January has declined and there’s increased activity in February and March,” says S.S. Randhawa, Senior Scientific Officer at the State Council for Science, Technology and Environment.
The decadal average number of rainy days has increased by 43 per cent, from 77.4 days in 1980-90 to 111 days in 2000-2010, according to data from the National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture.
The number of dry spells during the Kharif season, on the other hand, shrank to 10-15 days, while most dry spells between 1980 and 1990 lasted more than 20. This increased rainfall leads to a greater erosion of fertile topsoil, and infestations of pests that thrive in the humidity.
Kinnaur is famous for big and brightly-coloured apples, features caused by low night temperatures. Historically, the amount of crop lost to inclement weather has been low.
In April and May, while apple trees in neighbouring Shimla district and adjoining hills are adorned with white nets to protect against hailstorms, orchards in Kinnaur enjoy clear weather. But increasing rainfall and declining snowfall is pushing people out of this routine.
Cooler winter temperatures are important to induce dormancy, bud break and to ensure proper flowering in apples. But less snow, also reported in other parts of Himachal Pradesh, means that this crucial cool factor is not met, affecting apple quality and quantity.
Apple growers in Kinnaur’s low- and mid-altitude hills felt that rising temperatures had affected production, but farmers at more than 3,000 metres reported no decline due to temperature, according to a 2013 study.
Most growers also reported a shift in the apple harvesting period due to increasing temperatures. The infestation of pests and diseases -- including apple scab and canker -- are some climate change indicators that increase the cost of production.