SRINAGAR: A remarkable discovery by Indian scientists has revealed that the Kashmir Valley, now celebrated for its cool and temperate climate, was once a warm and humid subtropical region, until the mighty Himalayas rewrote its weather script nearly 4 million years ago.
In a study published in the journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, researchers from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, have pieced together the Valley’s ancient climate using fossilised leaves collected from the Karewa sediments. These well-preserved fossils were part of a legacy collection curated by pioneering Indian palaeobotanists Prof Birbal Sahni and Dr GS Puri.
What stunned the scientists was the stark mismatch between these fossils, bearing unmistakable traits of warm, moisture-loving subtropical species, and the region’s current cool, Mediterranean-type climate. This climatic contradiction became the starting point for a deeper investigation.
Dr Harshita Bhatia, Dr Reyaz Ahmad Dar, and Dr Gaurav Srivastava, leading the BSIP team, traced the transformation to tectonic forces: the gradual uplift of the Pir Panjal Range. This sub-Himalayan mountain chain now looms over the valley. Over millions of years, this rising barrier effectively blocked the Indian summer monsoon from reaching Kashmir, cutting off the vital rainfall that once nurtured dense, subtropical forests.
To reconstruct this climatic upheaval, the researchers employed the Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program (CLAMP), analysing the shape, size, and edge features of fossil leaves to estimate prehistoric temperature and rainfall. They also used the Coexistence Approach, comparing fossil plant types with their modern counterparts to refine estimates of past climate conditions.
Their findings paint a vivid picture: a Kashmir Valley once teeming with tropical biodiversity and high rainfall, which slowly dried and cooled as the growing mountains diverted the monsoon. The result was a long-term ecological shift, from a green, humid paradise to the conifer-lined alpine valley seen today.
“This study is more than a glimpse into Kashmir’s deep past—it’s a lens on Earth’s climate dynamics,” the Ministry of Science and Technology said in a statement. “It shows how geological processes like mountain building can permanently alter weather systems and reshape ecosystems.”
As global climate change accelerates, such historical insights have contemporary relevance. They enhance scientists’ ability to predict how modern landscapes might evolve in response to warming temperatures, shifting rainfall, and rising mountain stress.
Crucially, the study underscores the sensitivity of mountain ecosystems like the Himalayas, which are increasingly under threat from melting glaciers, changing monsoon patterns, and human pressures. “Understanding past climate shifts helps us better prepare for future ones,” the ministry added.
The research marks a powerful blend of ancient clues and modern science, reminding us that Kashmir’s story, written in stone and leaf, is not just about what was lost, but about what can still be preserved.
Earlier, on two occasions, Kashmir recovered the fossils of elephants and a narrative deconstructed by the researchers suggested the Kashmir’s weather suits the giant animals who were even consumed by the people.
