Experience of Climate Change and Adaptation in Daily Living: Evidence from the Suru Valley of Ladakh Region

Ladakh region in the Trans-Himalayas is unique with its cold and arid climate where local people live on limited natural resources. In this fragile environment, climate variations may lead to hardship for people. However, variations in the changing climate are not well understood here due to the harsh terrain and minimal weather monitoring stations operating in this region. The awareness and perception of local population on climate change can help to develop adaptation strategies. The present study explores the perceived climate change and its effect on day-to-day life by 120 semi-structured interviews and 12 focus group discussions with Participatory Rural Appraisal tools such as life histories, seasonal calendar, communities ranking of hazard etc. The findings indicate that people have experienced a range of climatic changes like reduced stream flows and snowfall, erratic rainfall and snowfall and early flowering season. These climatic changes have led to reduction in agricultural production and forced the community members to diversify their staple food and livelihood activities that are more market oriented. The current research may be useful in developing efficient approaches for climate change adaptation in cold deserts.