23-07-2025
India's 'apple basket' reels from climate change
A farmer examines his drying rice crop on the outskirts of Srinagar on July 7 as rising temperatures grip Kashmir's Himalayan region. (Photo by Sajad Hameed)
SAJAD HAMEED and REHAN QAYOOM
SRINAGAR, Jammu and Kashmir -- On a hot July afternoon in the northern part of Indian-administered Kashmir, 45-year-old farmer Riyaz Ahmad sat quietly on his tractor, staring at his apple trees with quiet despair. Many of the fruits bore the signs of sunburn, blackened skins, early leaf fall and stunted growth.
"This land never betrayed us before," he said with a sigh. "Now, even the trees are gasping for water and moisture."
