Unseasonal snowfall leaves Shimla, Kinnaur apple orchardists worried

Subhash Rajta

Shimla, April 21

Twice in the past three years, the apple-growing areas at 8,000 to 9,000 feet in Shimla and Kinnaur have received unseasonal snowfall post mid-April. Snowfall at this altitude in late April is rare.

Locals say they can’t remember when it snowed the last time in April before 2023 and 2021. “Snowfall at places located below 9,000-9,500 feet in late April is unheard of. It’s the impact of climate change that we have started experiencing,” said Harish Chauhan, an apple orchardist from Rohru.

“With the weather becoming so erratic and extreme and given the dependence of the fruit on favourable climate conditions, apple cultivation could become unsustainable in times to come,” he added.

CONTINUOUS RAINFALL POSSIBLE REASON

Continuous rainfall for more than 48 hours can be one of the reasons for unseasonal snowfall in places where it doesn’t snow at this time of the year. —Surender Paul, Director, Meteorological centre, Shimla

After heavy rain across the state and snowfall in higher reaches over the past three days, several apple-growing areas up to 9,000 feet received two to four inches of snowfall on Thursday night, causing damage to plants and the crop.

These places include areas in Kotkhai (Baghi) tehsil, Jubbal (Chunjar) and Rohru (Khadrala, Janglaik) in Shimla district and Bhaba valley in Kinnaur. “Several panchayats in the Bhaba valley received snowfall last night. I can’t recall when was the last time the valley received snowfall in April, except now and in 2021,” said Ishwar, pradhan, Yangpa gram panchayat. The orchards in the valley are located at a height of 7,200 feet to 8,000 feet.

Apart from snow, rainfall, too, has been unusual in its intensity and continuity over the past few days. “It’s been raining here for the past three days. This, too, is quite unusual. Normally, we have short bursts of rain during this time,” Ishwar added.

In the past one week, rainfall in Shimla and Kinnaur has been 393 per cent and 344 per cent higher than normal, respectively.

“If inclement weather continues, apple growers are staring at hard times. Growers suffer losses due to hailstones if they don’t put up anti-hail nets. And if they do and it snows, the plants are damaged,” said Sanjeev Thakur, an orchardist from the Chawara valley in Rohru.