Mon Jun 02 07:40:00 UTC 2025: **News Article:**

**Unseasonal Snowfall Devastates Kashmiri Shepherds, Threatening Traditional Way of Life**

**Kashmir, India** – An unprecedented snowfall in late May has brought devastation to nomadic communities in the upper reaches of Kashmir, threatening their livelihoods and raising concerns about the changing climate.

Just as shepherds began their annual migration to higher pastures, a sudden and unexpected blizzard swept across areas like Margan, Warwan, Gurez, and Peer ki Gali, blanketing summer trails in snow.

Maize fields, nearing harvest, were buried, and livestock perished in the unseasonal cold. Shelters collapsed, and families accustomed to harsh winters found themselves battling the elements at the wrong time of year.

“We were moving up with the herds, then it started snowing,” said Bashir Ahmad, a Gujjar herder. “We thought it would stop. It didn’t. We lost ten lambs in one night.”

The Gujjar-Bakarwal and Chopan communities rely on seasonal migration for survival, their sheep and cattle crucial to the region’s economy. However, the extreme weather has disrupted this traditional rhythm, leaving them stranded and vulnerable.

“This isn’t a minor disruption,” said Mohammad Yousuf Tarigami, a politician who visited the affected areas. “They’ve lost crops, they’ve lost livestock, and in some places, they’ve lost the very season they depend on.”

Tarigami has called for immediate relief and urged authorities to respect the traditional way of life, emphasizing the need for grazing access, free movement, and support during extreme weather events.

Villagers are struggling to salvage what they can, replanting maize and trying to save newborn animals. The government has yet to issue a full damage report, and relief efforts have been slow to reach remote areas.

The disaster has left communities fearing the future, questioning whether the traditional predictability of the seasons is gone. As Hameeda, a Chopan woman, lamented, “There’s no pattern anymore. Last year it rained too long. This year, it snowed too soon. What comes next?”

While the snow will eventually melt, the fear of an unpredictable climate and its impact on their way of life lingers, leaving many caught “in the middle of something larger than weather.”

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