Ladakh Development Foundation

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   bridge gone, irrigation canal, destroyed mill, downpour, homeless, worried farmers

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Over 100,000 references to "rain in Ladakh" can be found in an internet search. The vast majority are travel sites that advertise the wonderful, dry climate of Ladakh. "It rains less in Ladakh than it does in the Sahara desert" and "Ladakh is in the 'rain shadow' of the Himalayas" are both common descriptions of the weather in Ladakh.

Average yearly rainfall in this high altitude desert is from 3 to 6 inches (8 to 15 cm). For that reason all crops are irrigated through an intricate network of canals fed by springs and glacial melt. Many of these canals stretch for miles (irrigation canal video, top of page) and are hundreds of years old. Indeed, "for parched fields, farmers pray not for rain but for sunshine to melt the nearby glaciers" (National Geographic, 1978, 153:p342).

Mingled with references to the low rainfall are one or two articles from late summer, 2006 [www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060807/j&k.htm#1].
A sample of headlines read:

"800 evacuated, 15 killed in flood-hit Ladakh"
"Leh-Manali road still closed"
"Srinagar-Leh road opened once more"

In the village of Phyang (scroll to bottom of page to view Phyang monastery) a resident told us that his 70 year old parents had never seen rain like this (homeless video, top of page). The fact that Ladakhi homes have flat roofs and are made of mud confirms that low rainfall has been typical of Ladakh for an untold number of years. In August, 2006 many homes simply collapsed and virtually all had leaky roofs. One resident stated that the course of the river flowing through their village changed and now runs through the middle of his home.

One aspect of the 2006 disaster was a downpour on 28 July that within hours destroyed wheat and barley fields that had been cultivated for hundreds of years (downpour video, top of page). Large rocks and boulders were washed from river banks onto fields. Concrete bridges collapsed (bridge gone video, top of page) and many were washed away.

Water mills of necessity are built next to rivers and streams and many were completely decimated as a result of this flooding (destroyed mill video, top of page). In the village of Skindyang above Kalatse nine of the 10 village mills were destroyed.

Another aspect of the 2006 disaster was the persistent rain for 25 to 30 days that lasted through the wheat/barley harvest and into the threshing season. Many farmers were worried (worried farmers video, top of page) that the rain would not stop in time for them to thresh and then grind their crop before the water in the streams that power the mills froze.

Official estimates of rainfall in Leh for August and the first 2 weeks of September were 5 inches. It is likely that many other areas, particularly Phyang received more than this amount. Whether this rainfall pattern was simply an anomaly or is indicative of a long term change is not known at this time.

The Himalayas normally act as a barrier to the rains that fall to the south. Warmer temperatures in the summer created a condition in which mountains did not condense the moisture to the same extent -- which allowed rain clouds to pass over the mountains and condense in the cooler air to the north . . . in normally dry Ladakh. Most climatologists agree that glaciers are receding in the Himalayas which could be a sign of increasing temperatures in the mountains. If true, then it is possible that this rainfall pattern could become more common in Ladakh. .

While the debate on climate change continues, it seems clear that certain technologies will be crucial to allow Ladakhis to survive the effects of weather that they have never experienced. If you would like to help us assist the people of Ladakh please consider a contribution to Ladakh Development Foundation.