Ice skating rink contracting fast

Skating rink during peak season

With the "Queen of Hills" b e c o m i n g u n u s u a l l y warm during winters Asia's oldest natural ice skating rink is inching towards death. The severe degradation of environment due to large scale deforestation and unregulated and excessive constructions has brought about a sea change in the micro-climate. Snow is becoming increasingly scarce in the hills and a White Christmas and a White New Year have become a thing of past for the Shimlaites.

Weather conditions play a vital role as water is frozen naturally under the sky to create a sheet of ice for skating. However, the weather conditions are no longer conducive for ice skating. The ongoing environmental degradation has caused irreversible changes in the micro-climate, making it increasingly difficult for water to freeze in natural conditions

With large tracts of thick forests making way for concrete structures, the ambient temperature has been increasing. This winter the minimum temperature in Shimla hovered between 10 C and 12 C as against the normal of 5 C to 6 C until the first half of December. The dry weather has made things worse. There has been no rain since September and the deficiency was as high as 95 percent from October to December 15

The hills are indeed becoming warm across the Himalayan region but the local factors have accentuated the impact of climate change in Shimla region which has been transformed into a veritable concrete jungle.

Until the late 1970s, mercury remained below freezing point from November to March and the ice skating season also extended to over four months. The minimum temperature plunged to -6°C during peak winter and with daily two sessions, both morning and evening, even 165 sessions were possible during the season. N o w a d a y s evening sessions have become impossible as the sheet of ice melts due to high t e m p e r a t u r e during the day. Even the m i n i m u m t e m p e r a t u r e seldom touches the freezing point.

A view of mountain lacking snow packs during winter The ice skating season has been shrinking with each passing year and at times even 50 sessions are not possible. The season is delayed and effectively begins around mid-December and terminates by the end of January. The season, which exceeded 15 weeks three decades back, has shrunk to onethird
The writing is on the wall and the Shimla Ice Skating Club , which manages the 95 year old rink, has drawn up a proposal to install a refrigeration plant to overcome the adverse impact of changing micro-climate and give a fresh lease of life to dying rink. A Rs 8 crore project has been sent to the Centre for securing funds for the purpose.
If implemented, the project will transform it into a semiartificial rink and it will lose its exalted and historic status of a natural ice skating rink. With snowfall eluding the famous tourist destination year after year the Ice Skating Rink has been a major attraction for winter revelers. The club plans to maintain it as an open outdoor rink as it will help retain its natural ambience. It will also be economical to run as the closed indoor rink requires more electricity for running the refrigeration plant for cooling.

More than the melting of glaciers, the declining snowfall and receding seasonal snow cover during winter is a cause of concern. The snow packs are vanishing from the high mountains and it means that people living in villages downhill will have deal with the increasing problem of water scarcity.

The impact on the rink apart, the rising temperatures and the declining precipitation during winters points to the larger and much serious problem of environmental degradation in the hills. A study conducted by scientists of India Meteorological Department ,Naresh Kumar, BP Yadav and Manmohan Singh, and Shilpa Gahlot, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, has revealed that p r e c i p i t a t i o n during winter ,both snow and rain, was declining due to the decreasing frequency of w e s t e r n d i s t u r b a n c e s (WDs) , extratropical storms that bring moisture from t h e Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to cause winter rains in the region.

W i n t e r precipitation in Himachal Pradesh mainly occurs due to WDs the frequency of which has come down to 3 per month from December to March from 6 in the 1960s. The study for 1977-2007 period found that annual frequency of WDs during the winter season was 12 and frequencies December, January, February and March were of 2, 3, 4, and 4, respectively. The total winter precipitation and frequency of rather heavy and heavy precipitation days have also decreased over the region.

The analysis also shows a decrease of about 25% in heavy precipitation days and of 13% in total winter precipitation from their respective mean over Himachal Pradesh.

Another study by SC Bhan and Manmohan Singh shows that the winter in Shimla has shrunk drastically. The snow season is shrinking at an alarming rate of 11 days per decade and it has shrunk by 21 days over the 1991- 2011 period. The decadal average precipitation from December to March has declined from 283.9 mm (1991-92 to 2000- 01) to 235.1 mm (2001-02 to 2010-11) and the percentage of snowfall to total precipitation has also come down from 39 to 30. The decadal average of snow has plummeted from 109.4 mm to 68.1 mm.

The same declining trend of snow is discernible across the region and the best evidence is provided by the fact that the 13,050 ft Rohtang pass, which normally closed in October, remained open even in December this year. Studies conducted by the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) reveal that the quantum of snow at Dhundi downhill Rohtang pass has declined from about 1,400 mm to 800 mm and at he same time the quantum of rain has shot up from 200 mm to 800 mm over the 1989-2009 period.

The number of days for which the snow cover lasted has come down from 138 to 110. Across the pass the tribal Lahaul Spiti is also witnessing abnormally high increase in mercury with minimum temperatures ranging between – 3 C to -6 C against the normal of -12 C to 15 C.

Replenished by fresh snow every winter snow packs provide natural storage and essentially serve as water towers. The snowmelt refills streams and reservoirs which cater to irrigation and drinking water needs of the people through the dry summer.

The main reason for the reduction in snow packs is the declining precipitation, a consequence of indiscriminate deforestation. Forested hills, which served as natural could seeders to facilitate precipitation, have been

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed its concern over the unregulated and excessive constructions over the steep hills and asked the directed the government to assess the carrying capacity of the state capital which is beset with problems of water shortage , traffic jams and parking space.

concretised as result of which overall precipitation and snow have declined in lower and midhill areas. Even in the high mountains, which only received snow during winter , most of the precipitation is in the form of rain due to rising temperatures across the region. Moreover, whatever snow is received melts away fast, much before the onset of summer. With the changing weather pattern maximum precipitation is being recorded towards the end of the winter in February and March.

If no effective steps are taken to protect the fragile hill environment and the present trend continues the day will not be far off when the state will cease to be a destination for winter sports altogether. Until early 1980s Shimla regularly used to host national winter games at Kufri which remained under a thick blanket of snow through the winter.

However, the days it hardly gets any snow and tourists go all the way to Narkanda, 60 km away, to enjoy the thrill of snow. Even Narkanda , which was a popular snow sports centre until recently, does not get enough snow for skiing and other events. Solang slopes in Manali is the only centre still able to organise winter sports but it also faces uncertain future due to erratic and inadequate snow.

The ecologically fragile Himalayan hills are not meant to support large populations due to topographical constraints but successive governments have been overlooking this vital factor and refusing to take any measure to regulate development for political reasons. Instead, they have come out with policies to regularise illegal and unauthorised constructions.

Recently, the Vidhan Sabha passed a bill to regualrise all illegal structures across the state and it is pending with the Governor. The consequence of all these myopic and ecologically destructive policies implemented with an eye on vote bank in utter disregard to their environmental fallout is that the hills have been burdened beyond their carrying capacity.

The only way to save the hill environment is to put in place a policy which ensures that human activity decreases with the increase in altitude so that high hills are spared the onslaught of reckless development.



		EDITOR'S MAIL MATTERS OF PUBLIC POLICY NOTEBANDI DRAMA NOTEBANDI DRAMA FRANKLY SPEAKING POLL 2017 TAMIL NADU POLITICS TAMIL NADU POLITICS REALPOLITIK POLITICAL RESERVATION KASHMIR WATCH A HOLLOW RITUALRY ENVIRONMENTAL FALLOUT BABY TRAFFICKING AVIATION NOTE HITS & MISSES SPORT NOTEBOOK NEW PAK ARMY CHIEF PAGE FROM HISTORY MIDDLE EAST SCENE US WATCH NEW WHITE HOUSE INDO-VIETNAMESE TIES BOOK BAZAAR BOOK BAZAAR GENDER VIOLENCE SIGNS OF THE TIMES YOGA IN DAILY LIFE-IX ART OF LIVING Issue:January' 2017 Subscribe Now	ENVIRONMENTAL FALLOUT Ice skating rink contracting fast Skating rink during peak season With the "Queen of Hills" b e c o m i n g u n u s u a l l y warm during winters Asia's oldest natural ice skating rink is inching towards death. The severe degradation of environment due to large scale deforestation and unregulated and excessive constructions has brought about a sea change in the micro-climate. Snow is becoming increasingly scarce in the hills and a White Christmas and a White New Year have become a thing of past for the Shimlaites. Weather conditions play a vital role as water is frozen naturally under the sky to create a sheet of ice for skating. However, the weather conditions are no longer conducive for ice skating. The ongoing environmental degradation has caused irreversible changes in the micro-climate, making it increasingly difficult for water to freeze in natural conditions With large tracts of thick forests making way for concrete structures, the ambient temperature has been increasing. This winter the minimum temperature in Shimla hovered between 10 C and 12 C as against the normal of 5 C to 6 C until the first half of December. The dry weather has made things worse. There has been no rain since September and the deficiency was as high as 95 percent from October to December 15 The hills are indeed becoming warm across the Himalayan region but the local factors have accentuated the impact of climate change in Shimla region which has been transformed into a veritable concrete jungle. Until the late 1970s, mercury remained below freezing point from November to March and the ice skating season also extended to over four months. The minimum temperature plunged to -6°C during peak winter and with daily two sessions, both morning and evening, even 165 sessions were possible during the season. N o w a d a y s evening sessions have become impossible as the sheet of ice melts due to high t e m p e r a t u r e during the day. Even the m i n i m u m t e m p e r a t u r e seldom touches the freezing point. A view of mountain lacking snow packs during winter The ice skating season has been shrinking with each passing year and at times even 50 sessions are not possible. The season is delayed and effectively begins around mid-December and terminates by the end of January. The season, which exceeded 15 weeks three decades back, has shrunk to onethird The writing is on the wall and the Shimla Ice Skating Club , which manages the 95 year old rink, has drawn up a proposal to install a refrigeration plant to overcome the adverse impact of changing micro-climate and give a fresh lease of life to dying rink. A Rs 8 crore project has been sent to the Centre for securing funds for the purpose. If implemented, the project will transform it into a semiartificial rink and it will lose its exalted and historic status of a natural ice skating rink. With snowfall eluding the famous tourist destination year after year the Ice Skating Rink has been a major attraction for winter revelers. The club plans to maintain it as an open outdoor rink as it will help retain its natural ambience. It will also be economical to run as the closed indoor rink requires more electricity for running the refrigeration plant for cooling. More than the melting of glaciers, the declining snowfall and receding seasonal snow cover during winter is a cause of concern. The snow packs are vanishing from the high mountains and it means that people living in villages downhill will have deal with the increasing problem of water scarcity. The impact on the rink apart, the rising temperatures and the declining precipitation during winters points to the larger and much serious problem of environmental degradation in the hills. A study conducted by scientists of India Meteorological Department ,Naresh Kumar, BP Yadav and Manmohan Singh, and Shilpa Gahlot, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, has revealed that p r e c i p i t a t i o n during winter ,both snow and rain, was declining due to the decreasing frequency of w e s t e r n d i s t u r b a n c e s (WDs) , extratropical storms that bring moisture from t h e Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to cause winter rains in the region. W i n t e r precipitation in Himachal Pradesh mainly occurs due to WDs the frequency of which has come down to 3 per month from December to March from 6 in the 1960s. The study for 1977-2007 period found that annual frequency of WDs during the winter season was 12 and frequencies December, January, February and March were of 2, 3, 4, and 4, respectively. The total winter precipitation and frequency of rather heavy and heavy precipitation days have also decreased over the region. The analysis also shows a decrease of about 25% in heavy precipitation days and of 13% in total winter precipitation from their respective mean over Himachal Pradesh. Another study by SC Bhan and Manmohan Singh shows that the winter in Shimla has shrunk drastically. The snow season is shrinking at an alarming rate of 11 days per decade and it has shrunk by 21 days over the 1991- 2011 period. The decadal average precipitation from December to March has declined from 283.9 mm (1991-92 to 2000- 01) to 235.1 mm (2001-02 to 2010-11) and the percentage of snowfall to total precipitation has also come down from 39 to 30. The decadal average of snow has plummeted from 109.4 mm to 68.1 mm. The same declining trend of snow is discernible across the region and the best evidence is provided by the fact that the 13,050 ft Rohtang pass, which normally closed in October, remained open even in December this year. Studies conducted by the Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE) reveal that the quantum of snow at Dhundi downhill Rohtang pass has declined from about 1,400 mm to 800 mm and at he same time the quantum of rain has shot up from 200 mm to 800 mm over the 1989-2009 period. The number of days for which the snow cover lasted has come down from 138 to 110. Across the pass the tribal Lahaul Spiti is also witnessing abnormally high increase in mercury with minimum temperatures ranging between – 3 C to -6 C against the normal of -12 C to 15 C. More than the melting of glaciers, the declining snowfall and receding seasonal snow cover during winter is a cause of concern. The snow packs are vanishing from the high mountains and it means that people living in villages downhill will have deal with the increasing problem of water scarcity. Replenished by fresh snow every winter snow packs provide natural storage and essentially serve as water towers. The snowmelt refills streams and reservoirs which cater to irrigation and drinking water needs of the people through the dry summer. The main reason for the reduction in snow packs is the declining precipitation, a consequence of indiscriminate deforestation. Forested hills, which served as natural could seeders to facilitate precipitation, have been The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed its concern over the unregulated and excessive constructions over the steep hills and asked the directed the government to assess the carrying capacity of the state capital which is beset with problems of water shortage , traffic jams and parking space. concretised as result of which overall precipitation and snow have declined in lower and midhill areas. Even in the high mountains, which only received snow during winter , most of the precipitation is in the form of rain due to rising temperatures across the region. Moreover, whatever snow is received melts away fast, much before the onset of summer. With the changing weather pattern maximum precipitation is being recorded towards the end of the winter in February and March. If no effective steps are taken to protect the fragile hill environment and the present trend continues the day will not be far off when the state will cease to be a destination for winter sports altogether. Until early 1980s Shimla regularly used to host national winter games at Kufri which remained under a thick blanket of snow through the winter. However, the days it hardly gets any snow and tourists go all the way to Narkanda, 60 km away, to enjoy the thrill of snow. Even Narkanda , which was a popular snow sports centre until recently, does not get enough snow for skiing and other events. Solang slopes in Manali is the only centre still able to organise winter sports but it also faces uncertain future due to erratic and inadequate snow. The ecologically fragile Himalayan hills are not meant to support large populations due to topographical constraints but successive governments have been overlooking this vital factor and refusing to take any measure to regulate development for political reasons. Instead, they have come out with policies to regularise illegal and unauthorised constructions. Recently, the Vidhan Sabha passed a bill to regualrise all illegal structures across the state and it is pending with the Governor. The consequence of all these myopic and ecologically destructive policies implemented with an eye on vote bank in utter disregard to their environmental fallout is that the hills have been burdened beyond their carrying capacity. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has expressed its concern over the unregulated and excessive constructions over the steep hills and asked the directed the government to assess the carrying capacity of the state capital which is beset with problems of water shortage , traffic jams and parking space. The only way to save the hill environment is to put in place a policy which ensures that human activity decreases with the increase in altitude so that high hills are spared the onslaught of reckless development.