Lok Sabha Question No. 6520 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-04-06
Subject: Snowfall in Himachal Pradesh
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: ANURAG SINGH THAKUR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 6520

TO BE ANSWERED ON 06.04.2018

## Snowfall in Himachal Pradesh

## 6520. SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR:

Will  the  Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND  CLIMATE  CHANGE  be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government has taken note of deficit in snowfall in Himachal Pradesh;
- (b) if so, the steps taken by the Government to help people of the State, especially the farmers to mitigate the crisis;
- (c) the amount of snowfall in Himachal Pradesh in the last five years; and
- (d) the manner in which the Government is planning to cope with the new changes in weather pattern?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

(a) & (b) As per the study carried out using satellite data by the Himachal Pradesh State Centre on  Climate  Change,  deficit  in  snowfall  in  terms  of  average  area  under  snowfall  in  the  State during the period 2010 - 2017 has been observed. However, average annual snowfall has shown fluctuations during the period 2013 - 2017 as per India Meteorological Department.

In  light  of  declining  snowfall,  the  State  Government  is  taking  adaptation  measures including  a  pilot  technology  demonstration  project  with  funding  support  of  Department  of Science & Technology, Government of India for harvesting seasonal snow and freezing of water during  late  winter  to  enhance  water  conservation  in  the  area,  enabling  farmers  to  have sustainable sources of irrigation during peak season.

(c)  The  average  annual  snowfall  recorded  across  six  locations  in  Himachal  Pradesh  in centimeters during the last five years is at Annexure-1.

- (d)  The  Government  has  launched  the  National  Action  Plan  on  Climate  Change  (NAPCC)  in June 2008 to deal with the issues related to climate change. NAPCC comprises of eight missions in specific areas of solar  energy, enhanced  energy  efficiency,  habitat,  water,  sustaining Himalayan ecosystems, forestry, agriculture and strategic knowledge for climate change, which address the issues relating to mitigation of greenhouse gases as well as adaptation to the adverse impacts of climate change. 32 States and Union Territories (UTs) including Himachal Pradesh have prepared State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) in line with the objectives of the NAPCC to address State specific concerns.

Annexure-1 Average annual snowfall recorded across six locations in Himachal Pradesh in centimeters

| Stations   | 2013   | 2014   |   2015 |   2016 |   2017 |
|------------|--------|--------|--------|--------|--------|
| Shimla     | 91.6   | 106.3  |   46   |   27.7 |  103.5 |
| Manali     | 313.0  | 137.0  |  116   |    8   |  179.6 |
| Kalpa      | 484.0  | 326.8  |  546.9 |  112.6 |  350.6 |
| Keylong    | 391.0  | 312.0  |  488   |  184   |  250   |
| Udaipur    | 206.4  | 241.8  |  624.7 |   88   |  382.8 |
| Khadrala   | --     | --     |  121.3 |   66   |  222   |

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