By Mehul Rawat
When we think of climate change in Uttarakhand, the images that come to mind are dramatic ones—landslides, flooding rivers, cloudbursts, and snowless winters. These events make headlines because the damage is sudden, intense, and clearly visible. However, some forms of climate damage evade people’s attention because they unfold quietly and slowly over a long period. A recent satellite-based study by researchers at the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, has revealed that the vegetation cover in Uttarakhand declined gradually over the period spanning 2001 to 2022.
Using Google Earth Engine (GEE) to track satellite data of Uttarakhand’s vegetation over two decades, the study has illuminated what we fail to notice on the ground. This gradual damage that happens imperceptibly but accumulates over time is what Rob Nixon refers to as “slow violence”. While the natural environment will not collapse overnight, if the problem is left unattended, it will become stressed and vulnerable to external pressures.
The vegetation alters with each passing season, and this cyclic change disguises the overall decline for most casual observers. This research provides evidence that even though the seasonal variation is as expected, the overall decline is a significant cause for concern. It is not a temporary fluctuation and must not be dismissed as one. It is a baseline decline spread over two decades.
The study offers an early warning. Lower vegetation is a grave cause for concern for an ecologically sensitive Himalayan state like Uttarakhand. Less green cover means less water retention. Soil health declines, and the slopes get eroded. This results in more intense fires, floods and landslides. The visible indicators of climate change are only the symptoms; the real problem lies with Uttarakhand’s declining ecological health as a whole.
It is time the hill state heeds the warning and carefully assesses the situation, because slow ecological violence often lies in policy blind spots. Most planning is reactive, responding to disasters or, at best, focused on preventing immediate catastrophes. Visible damage is prioritised, but invisible stress often goes undetected or gets overlooked. Furthermore, planning timelines are shorter than ecological ones. By the time the loss of vegetation is evident, it might already be too late, resulting in far higher economic, ecological and social costs of restoration.
Uttarakhand must make note of the fact that environmental change occurs over longer timeframes than we plan for. Short-term, reactive policies serve only as band-aid fixes. Planning in ecological time is no longer optional but a prerequisite for climate resilience.
(Mehul is a Research Scholar in the Department of English, Doon University, working at the intersection of ecology, development, and public life in Uttarakhand.)
