NAVVNEET DUBEY
Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir is set to become significantly warmer and wetter in coming decades, with climate projections indicating a temperature rise of around 1.5°C between 2021–2050 under moderate-emission scenario, coupled with a 5 percent increase in annual precipitation, and up to 15 percent under high-emission scenario.
The projections, based on IPCC pathways SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5, point to shorter cold seasons and greater variability and intensity of rainfall, posing serious challenges for water resources, agriculture, health and ecosystems, according to the revised State Action Plan on Climate Change. The data was part of the revised Jammu & Kashmir State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC 2.0) prepared by the Department of Forest, Ecology & Environment.
The revised SAPCC was shared with Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo in a meeting today. The revised SAPCC 2.0 is proposed to be placed before the State Level Steering Committee (SLSC) for formal approval before its submission to the National Level Steering Committee under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) for its early implementation on ground. CS called for further refinement of the plan by incorporating clearly defined, department-wise actions, outcomes and timelines up to 2030.
In her presentation, the Commissioner Secretary, Forests, Sheetal Nanda highlighted climate projections based on IPCC pathways, including SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5. She revealed that under the moderate-emission scenario, temperatures are projected to rise by around 1.5°C during 2021–2050, with implications for water resources, agriculture, health and ecosystems. It was also projected that the annual precipitation is projected to increase by around 5 per cent under the moderate-emission scenario and up to 15 per cent under the high-emission scenario, with the assessment pointing towards shorter cold seasons and greater variability and intensity of rainfall events.
The Commissioner Secretary further detailed out that the climate vulnerability assessment has evaluated 42 indicators across agriculture, water, health and forest sectors, identifying district-specific vulnerabilities and risks to facilitate targeted interventions.
The revised plan proposes 55 emission mitigation strategies, with an estimated mitigation potential of 2.6 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030. These include promotion of solar energy, including floating solar plants, greater utilisation of small hydropower and wind energy, strengthening of grid infrastructure, reduction of transmission and distribution losses, promotion of electric mobility and deployment of Intelligent Traffic Management Systems.
Besides, 100 adaptation actions have been proposed across five key sectors along with Disaster Risk Reduction measures. These include expansion of micro-irrigation, achieving universal household tap-water coverage, rainwater harvesting, strengthening health facilities in underserved areas, restoration of degraded catchment forests with native species and construction of retaining walls and other slope-protection measures at vulnerable locations.
The meeting was also informed about the proposed institutional mechanism under SAPCC 2.0, envisaging a Governing Council headed by the Chief Minister to meet annually and an Executive Council chaired by the Chief Secretary to meet twice a year for overseeing implementation and inter-departmental coordination.
Implementation of the action plan is proposed to be monitored quarterly through a digital dashboard, with departmental nodal officers updating defined Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to track progress against targets.
The Chief Secretary directed that the revised framework should clearly establish who will do what, by when and with what measurable outcome, while ensuring that the interventions are aligned with J&K’s specific ecological, geographical and socio-economic realities.
Chief Secretary emphasised that a climate action plan should translate into clear, actionable and time-bound interventions. He directed the department to incorporate the actions to be undertaken by each concerned department, along with their expected outcomes and milestones, over the period up to 2030.
He observed that every plan should have clearly defined goals and a well-laid-out strategy to achieve them within a specific timeframe. He called for prioritising interventions keeping in view the strengths, constraints, vulnerabilities and available capacities of the UT so that the proposed measures can be implemented effectively on the ground.
