Written by Rinchen Angmo on 5th June 2023.

World environment day. I don’t know about the world, but climate change sure feels all too real in Ladakh. Those from other trans-Himalayan regions too seem to be finding this summer cooler than usual. We held a public poll on our Rewa Sum story asking whether ‘Trans-Himalayan summer feels cooler than usual?’ this year and the above picture demonstrates what the 18 respondents had to say. Besides everyone in Ladakh seems to be talking about how unusually cool this summer is. A fact highlighted by the inconsistent opening and closing of mountain passes in the region. 

In trans-Himalayan and Himalayan regions, both leaders and the public have been and continue to be vocal about climate change.

Climate change has to be understood vis-a-vis the enormous threat it poses to life itself. To pursue material mega projects at the cost of survival is foolish at best and catastrophic at worst. 

The third pole which encompasses many places along the Tibetan Plateau and Hindu Kush Himalayas like Tibet, Ladakh, Lahaul, Spiti etc. is a source of life to billions of sentient beings. Yet in these very places indigenous voices that understand traditional as well as modern paradigms of sustainability continue to be sidelined. Climate change mitigation can only be possible when there is mutual respect between powerful institutions and common people. Hence, the endowment of political rights becomes inevitable, provided there really is a motive to mitigate the impact of climate change. 

There are many brilliant experts on climate change stemming from both traditional and modern knowledge systems; the question is, can and will policy makers make room for them?

I have myself been rather ignorant of matters regarding climate change, but at this point this issue is impossible to ignore when it’s symptoms are all around us. 

The seriousness of climate change can only be understood when we pause to think about its impact on individual lives. Here in the trans-Himalayas summer doesn’t feel like usual summers; let us know what you have to say about climate change in this region and beyond in the comments.