Is the climate you experience really changing?
In October 2004, Down To Earth carried out a survey on people's perception of climate change. We sought replies for the following questions:
• What kind of local/regional changes in climate patterns have you noticed?
• Has any specific climatic pattern typical to your region been affected?
We received responses from across the country. Respondents included housewives, school teachers, college professors and students.
We thank our readers for their support.
S now fascinates my 10-year-old daughter. Since we live in South India, she had seen snow-clad mountains only in movies and photographs, or heard me reminiscing of snow-covered alpine meadows in the Garhwal Himalaya, where I did my doctoral research, 1990-1993. In the summer of 2004, I finally took her to the Mandal forests of Kedarnath forest division. I was shocked. The northern parts of the forests (2,500 metres above mean sea level) were completely devoid of any snow. Earlier, I used to see snow even in May. In the meadows of Shokharak (4,000 metres above mean sea level), small snow-fed streams were common. Now, the area is completely dry. It has also become warmer.
According to local people, the ecosystem has changed recently. The amount of snowfall in winter (December to March) has plunged drastically. Even Balasruthi
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