Baba Barfani is gone. Five days into this year’s Amarnath Yatra, the ice stalagmite Hindu pilgrims worship as a form of Lord Shiva has nearly vanished from its cave in Kashmir. It is the third year running that the ice has failed to survive a week.
The stalagmite stood nearly seven feet tall in May, according to photographs the Border Security Force released. By July 7, it had shrunk by close to 90 percent.
The Amarnath Cave sits 3,888 meters up in the Himalayas, reachable only on foot, mule or palanquin. The ice forms each spring as water dripping from the cave roof freezes into a shape resembling a Shiva lingam. In 2018 and 2022, it stood 12 to 15 feet tall for weeks. This year it barely reached two feet before melting began.
The 57-day pilgrimage began July 3 and runs through August 28. More than 56,000 pilgrims visited in the first three days, 18.6 percent more than last year. Registration through July 9 is full, and officials have told unregistered pilgrims to wait.
Aman Chawla, a pilgrim who completed his darshan this week, said officials should move the pilgrimage earlier. “It started on June 28, but if it had begun around June 10 or 12, more devotees would have had the opportunity to witness the holy Shivling,” he said.
The Science
Experts point to hotter regional temperatures, weaker winter snowfall, and heat from the crowds themselves. Between 13,000 and 20,000 pilgrims enter the cave on peak days, and their body heat works against the sub-zero conditions the ice needs to survive.
That pattern matches what scientists are finding across the range. A study in Nature Reviews Earth and Environment found that high-altitude zones of the Himalayas have warmed nearly 50 percent faster than the global average since 1950. “The Himalayan ice is decreasing more rapidly than we thought,” said Nick Pepin, a climate scientist involved in the research.
Politics and Warning
Iltija Mufti, a leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, blamed deforestation, illegal mining, poor waste management and falling water levels. She said environmental concerns carry “no power currency” in Kashmir’s politics, and called for a conservation strategy modeled on Bhutan.
The Shrine Board, meanwhile, has capped daily pilgrim numbers on the Baltal and Chandanwari routes, following Supreme Court directions, and stationed security checks along the way.
Without stronger protections, Mufti warned, “Kashmir will cease to exist.”
Pilgrims keep climbing anyway. “Baba has vanished, yet faith remains,” said Divyanshu Khanna, another devotee. “The divine presence of Baba can still be felt in every particle of that sacred place.”
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