Clean winter months are vital for Kashmir because they break the pollution cycle and allow people and children to safely enjoy the snow with joy. Kashmir must not let pollution define its winters and become like New Delhi.
Dr. Ashraf Zainabi
Kashmir was once known for winters that were fresh, clean and full of life. Today our winters feel heavy, grey and suffocating. The air that enters our lungs no longer feels like mountain air. On many cold days, the air in Kashmir looks no different from the air in New Delhi, a city known across the world for dangerous smog. This change did not happen in one day. It happened slowly, as we added more smoke, more dust and more traffic into a valley that is already closed from all sides. The mountains that protect us in summer become a trap in winter. They stop polluted air from escaping. During winter inversion, cold air gets stuck at the bottom of the valley and warm air stays on top like a blanket. Smoke, dust and fumes have no place to go. They sit over our towns, inside our streets, and even inside our homes. This is why December, January and February have now become the most polluted months in Kashmir. If we want to save our winters, we must accept that normal rules do not work in these three months. We need special winter rules that reduce pollution sharply and quickly, before it builds up. After thinking about what causes the most pollution in winter, three clear solutions appear. These three steps do not require huge money or complicated plans. They only need discipline and strict enforcement. This is what I call the trio plan for Kashmir’s clean winters. It starts on 15 November and ends on 15 February every year. These three months are exactly the period when inversion is strongest and air is weakest.
The first step of this plan is the odd-even traffic system.
The rule is simple. Cars with odd registration numbers move on odd dates, and cars with even numbers move on even dates. This immediately reduces almost half of the private vehicles from the roads. Many studies from global cities show that when you reduce traffic volume by even 30 to 40 per cent, air quality improves because vehicles release a large share of PM2.5. In Kashmir too, private cars, two-wheelers and old commercial vehicles add a big share to daily smoke. A winter odd-even plan can reduce vehicle-based pollution by 30 to 40 per cent, which means an overall seasonal pollution reduction of about 10 to 15 per cent, because winter pollution comes from many different sources. This may sound small, but in winters where every microgram matters, even a 10 per cent reduction can prevent smog layers from forming and protect thousands of children, elders and asthma patients. The second step is to completely stop the activities of the brick kilns and other industries those generate black smoke and dust during these three months. Brick kilns release heavy black smoke because they burn huge amounts of coal, soft coke and other fuels. In summer the smoke rises and spreads, but in winter it gets trapped inside the valley and adds a thick layer of harmful particles. A single brick kiln can release tonnes of pollution in one season. Kashmir has many brick kilns located dangerously close to towns and villages. If we pause all brick kiln operations from mid-November to mid-February, we can reduce a major source of continuous smoke. According to rough environmental estimates used for regions with similar kiln density, a seasonal shutdown can reduce the valley’s winter pollution burden by 20 to 25 per cent, because brick kilns operate day and night and emit far more smoke than traffic. This means the air would immediately become lighter, cleaner and easier to breathe.
“Clean winter months are vital for Kashmir because they break the pollution cycle, allowing people and children to safely enjoy the snow with joy. Kashmir must not let pollution define its winters and become like New Delhi.”
The third step of the trio plan is no soil-related developmental activities. This includes road digging, earth cutting, soil filling, drain construction, macadamisation, stone crushing and other dust-producing work. Dust is one of the biggest problems in our towns today. When soil is open and loose, even a small movement of vehicles or wind lifts it into the air. In summer dust can rise and then settle again. In winter dust rises and remains hanging for hours because the air is trapped beneath the inversion layer. Big construction projects running in winter create an endless cloud that spreads across neighbourhoods. Work that looks normal to our eyes actually poisons the air silently. If all soil-related works are paused in winter, the dust pollution can drop by 25 to 30 per cent, leading to an overall air improvement of 15 to 20 per cent for the entire season. If all three steps are combined, the improvement becomes strong and visible. Traffic reduction may cut 10–15 per cent, brick kiln shutdown may cut 20–25 per cent, and suspension of dusty works may cut 15–20 per cent. When we combine all three, Kashmir can reduce total winter pollution by around 40 to 50 per cent during the peak inversion period. This is not a small improvement. This is a life-changing improvement. It means half the smog gone. It means our children breathing easier. It means fewer asthma attacks, fewer hospital visits, and fewer people waking up with burning eyes. It means our winters becoming winters again.
Some people may ask whether stopping brick kilns or construction for three months can harm the economy. But we must remember that winter is already a slow season for construction. Even road works and big projects pause during heavy snow. Brick kilns earn most of their income outside winter. A planned seasonal pause will not destroy livelihoods; it will only shift the active months. But if we do nothing, the cost will be far greater. Poor air quality damages tourism, harms public health, pushes people into medical debt, and destroys Kashmir’s image as a place of natural beauty. The economic loss caused by dirty air is always bigger than the temporary slowdown caused by a planned pause. In fact, the trio plan is the cheapest method available for improving winter air quality. It does not need new machines, new plants or huge investments. It only needs honesty and enforcement. It needs the government to understand that winter pollution is not a small problem. It is a silent emergency. The cost of ignoring this emergency will be paid by the entire population, especially the poor who cannot afford air purifiers or private treatment. If we protect our winter air for just three months every year, the rest of the year will automatically improve. Clean winter months break the cycle of trapped pollution. They give the valley breathing space. They allow people to enjoy the snow without fear. They give our children winters they can remember with joy. Kashmir deserves this. We cannot allow our valley to become another New Delhi. We cannot allow inversion, smoke and dust to define our winters.
(The author is a teacher and a researcher based in Gowhar Pora Chadoora of Central Kashmir’s Budgam district. The views, opinions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”)
