The Amarnath Yatra in 2025 is witnessing unprecedented changes due to climate impact. The naturally formed ice Shivling, an iconic symbol of Lord Shiva, appears to be melting faster than ever before.
00:00Let me now take you from Gujarat to Jammu Kashmir.
00:04What has unfolded in Jammu Kashmir in the past few days is very interesting.
00:09One of the big hill stations or tourist destinations is climate change impacting our hill regions too.
00:15Kashmir Valley is reporting a heat wave and how this time?
00:19At this year is Amarnath Yatra which began on the 3rd of July under tied security arrangements.
00:24Devotees are reporting that shivling appears to be smaller than ever in 2025.
00:27Is global warming to blame or something else?
00:31The naturally formed ice shivling of Baba Barfani, an iconic symbol of Lord Shiva, appears to be melting faster than ever before.
00:38India Today's reporter, my colleague Jitendra Bahadur Singh, is currently on the yatra.
00:42He undertook the yatra with the first batch of pilgrims and noticed a comparison, a stark contrast, compared to previous visits in 2018 and 2022.
00:51Back then the shivling stood tall at nearly 12 to 15 feet.
00:54This year, he says, only about one and a half to two foot formation was visible and that appeared to start to melt already to a certain extent.
01:04Now there is intense heat even in Kashmir Valley where people actually throng because it is a cold station.
01:11Particularly around Srinagar where situation appears to be worsening with the melting of snow and ice.
01:16Dust clouds have been reported from the yatra.
01:18According to weather experts and local officials, rising temperature, lack of snowfall in recent years have significantly reduced ice retention across the years.
01:28Nevertheless, amid all of this, remember, because the cave of course still stands, the shivling still stands,
01:33the excitement and enthusiasm for the pilgrims is still high.
01:36Batches of pilgrims with a chanting of Harar Mahadev and Bambam Bhole are heading and are on the trek toward the Amarnath cave.
01:45Let's sleep.
01:48Father, please bejenny.
02:03What do you think of the window is no longer?
