Syllabus: GS-I
Subject: Geography
Topic: Geographical features and their location changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps).
Context: The unusually warm winter has impacted extreme winter sports like ice hockey and Chadar trek in the cold desert mountains of Ladakh.
Factors attributed for warm winter:
- Declining trend of Western disturbances, which are large eastward-moving rain-bearing wind systems in recent times.
- El Nino impact – unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean
- Climate Change and rising temperatures.
Conclusion: Winter tourism destinations like Gulmarg have also witnessed no snowfall this winter affecting the agriculture and economy of the region.
