Snow down to inches in Shimla’s apple belt, growers urge govt to intervene

Pratap Chauhan is a worried man. The 67-year-old apple grower is witnessing a situation that he has never seen in his life before. “We have had five snowfalls this winter, starting from December, but not even once the snowfall has been more than an inch or two. It’s really worrisome,” he says.

Just until three winters ago, one foot to two feet of snowfall in one occurrence was a routine in his village located at an altitude of 7,800 feet in the Kotkhai area of Shimla district. “In the wet spell for two days, we received only an inch of snowfall and about 5 mm of rainfall. Now, clouds come, precipitation starts, but it’s over in no time,” says Chauhan. “Only places above 8,000 feet to 8,500 feet are receiving around two to three inch of snowfall,” he adds.

The situation is more or less the same in other parts of the apple belt. To make the matters worse, the winter rain is also eluding the lower altitudes of the apple belt. Lokinder Bisht, an apple grower in Rohru, says that only 4 mm to 5 mm of rainfall was recorded in the area in the past two days. “Normally, we get 15 mm to 20 mm of rainfall in a day or so, and around five to six inches of snow when it snows in the higher reaches. Now, the snow is not reaching us and rainfall has also reduced considerably,” he says. Rohru is located at an altitude of around 5,000 feet.

According to weather experts, adequate snowfall is eluding the apple belt mainly due to the interaction of the warmer wind system coming from the south with the Western Disturbance. “When the winds coming from the south interact with the Western Disturbance, the amount of snowfall reduces but there’s rain in wider areas, as we have witnessed this time,” says Shobhit Katiyar, a Senior Scientist at the Meteorological Centre, Shimla.

“Besides, the snowfall amount also depends on the speed of the clouds. If the clouds are fast moving, the snowfall will be less. But if the clouds are slow moving, the snowfall will be higher. So, there are multiple factors that determine the amount of snowfall in a given area,” he adds.

Regardless of what’s leading to the decline in snowfall and rain in the apple belt, the apple growers want the government to take note of the changing weather pattern and look for some remedial measures. “It’s been three years in a row that the apple belt has seen minimal snowfall and winter rain. The government should get an assessment done of its impact on apple cultivation and the remedial measures to be taken as the situation is becoming critical for apple cultivation,” says Bisht.