For days, people in the Himalayan region of Kashmir watched. Amid extreme dry weather conditions, an ancient spring dried up. It was the first time in living memory the spring water had vanished.
The region of Kashmir lies in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. India and Pakistan each administer a part of Kashmir. However, both claim the whole territory.
Multiple springs and streams—including branches of the region’s main Jhelum River that cuts through the Kashmir Valley—have dried in Indian-controlled Kashmir. That’s caused water shortages in recent weeks across the region known for Himalayan peaks and pristine lakes.
Weather officials say the region has witnessed over 80% rain and snow shortfall since the beginning of this year. Most of Kashmir’s plains received little snow while the upper reaches also saw less than usual. For over a month now, daytime temperatures have been more than 40° Fahrenheit above normal.
Last week, a video went viral on social media. The video showed an elderly woman praying and crying in front of the ancient spring in southern Kashmir’s town of Achabal.
The spring lies inside a famed garden built by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s wife in the 17th century. It is a source of drinking water for 20 villages in the area.
“Oh, holy spring, what have we done to you? You have stopped water to us,” 80-year-old Saja Begum howls in the video. “Let the spring come back to life.”
The video stirred emotions across Kashmir.
The spring did return after fresh rain and snowfall late last week. But locals are discussing a long-held fear: Changing weather patterns could soon take a toll on Kashmir’s bodies of water that nurture its famed orchards and vast farming fields.
The crisis has forced officials to temporarily cancel national winter games held every year in the tourist resort of Gulmarg. Thousands of domestic and global tourists typically visit to ski and sled its stunning snowscape in winter.
Authorities are investigating what caused the spring to dry up, according to the local online news outlet The Kashmiriyat.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, the region’s top official, says Kashmir is facing a water crisis this year. He says the crisis has “been building up for a few years now,” and the government is reviewing measures to deal with the crisis.
Abdullah wrote on social media, “The government will have to adopt a more proactive approach for water management & conservation.”
He adds that the region’s residents “will have to change the way we take water for granted.”
According to weather monitoring agencies, last year was Earth’s hottest on record—meaning since people started keeping consistent weather statistics.
According to NASA, there isn’t enough data before 1880 for scientists to estimate average temperatures for the entire planet. So 2024 was the hottest in at least the last 144 years.
It is comforting that God controls the weather. “Even winds and sea obey Him”! (Matthew 8:27)
