Impact of climate change: Two villages in Mustang were displaced after the water began to dry up

Due to climate change, the villages of Mustang have started to be displaced after the water springs have dried up. Samzong and Dhye villages are settlements that left the ancestral land and migrated after the root dried up and there was a water crisis for people and livestock and irrigation.

85 people from 18 families of Lomanthang Rural Municipality-2 Samjong, who wandered in search of water after the spring started drying up, left the old settlement and moved to the banks of Namsung river in the same ward since 2071/72.

'Mustangi Kancho Village' i.e. most of the land they live in New Samjong belongs to the former Mustang King . There is also some government land. This settlement of Namsung moved to Samthar Bagar on the river bank is called 'New Samjong'.

Namsung's life is more comfortable than that of Samjong's because of sufficient irrigation and drinking water . The inland road connected to Namsung has also provided other facilities. Kakakul was formed after the water springs dried up in Samjong. With the help of various donors, Samjong settlement has been moved to Namsung," said Karm Namgyal Gurung, the ward president of Lomanthang-2 Choser, "When there is no snow in winter and abnormal rain in dry season, it affects the farming system, animal husbandry and lifestyle. Has passed . If the cycle of snow and rain worsens like this, the day may come when the entire Mustang will have to bear the same problem as Samjong.' While watching

, the village with the houses of Gujmuza looks like fun, but the old Samjong settlement in Lomanthang-1 is now deserted . Houses are empty and fields are barren. After the people of Samjong left the village, the horses they left to graze in the open are crying in the empty Samjong village.

After the drinking water and irrigation water source dried up like Samjong, more than 100 people of 20 families of Dhye village in Loghekar-Damodarkunda rural municipality-5 are 'climate refugees' in Thamsung on the banks of Kaligandaki river. Living life . After the source of drinking water and irrigation dried up, in 2007, they migrated to Thamjung on the banks of Kaligandaki river in the same municipality 5 at an altitude of 3700 meters. "Climate change in Mustang in the Himalayas is not only a difficult challenge faced by the current generation, but also a serious threat to the future," said Lopsang Chhoppel Bista, Chairman of Loghekar-Damodarkund Rural Municipality, "We are facing the effects of climate change. We are trying to create a climate adaptation action plan from the municipality level and reduce the impact accordingly.' Samzong and Dhye are suffering due to lack of rain when needed, lack of snow in winter, drying up of water sources, drying of the soil and not suitable for cultivation, decreasing pasture area, abnormal and more than average rains and floods. The village is empty.

Similarly, in Tetang in Baragung Mukti Kshetra Rural Municipality-3, the locals have said that the irrigation water in the fields is drying up due to climate change. If the water source dries up, the residents of Tetang are also in fear of having to leave the settlement like Samjong and Dhye villagers.

For irrigation in Tetang, water of Ko and Yacho origin, which is located on the border of Manang, which is reached by walking four hours up from the settlement, has been brought. But as the snow is less and the root is drying up, it has started to be insufficient for irrigation . "Earlier, it used to reach the wells for irrigation," said Dharpo Gurung, a ward member of Baragung Mukti Kshetra-3, "Now, when the water has receded at the root, the water is less when it is carried to the fields from the wells." It is not easy to bring it through the pipe, it is also expensive.'

Monsoon rains were very common in Upper Mustang, which falls under the rain shadow of the Himalayan range. In winter, there was heavy snowfall. For two decades, climate change has resulted in less snow in winter and more rain on average in winter. After the heavy snowfall in winter and melting, the crops are brought in till the first week of mid-October-October after planting lice, mustard, mustard and potatoes alternately in the end of February/Chait. But now the farming system has started to change. Due to the absence of snow, the agricultural fields are dry and the production is decreasing.

'It didn't snow in winter . In our place where only one crop is cultivated, crops should be planted from mid-February to March. Since there was no snow, the sandy soil became dry, because the spring dried up, water did not flow in the river near the settlement, and irrigation became a problem. There was a famine in the village after there was no cultivation, so we left the place of birth and moved to Namsung,' said 60-year-old Chingju Gurung.

According to the Office of Water and Meteorology, Pokhara, the maximum rainfall in Upper Mustang was below 200 millimeters until 2009 in the records of the weather measuring center located in Choser, Lomanthang Rural Municipality-1, the uppermost part of Mustang. Since then, the amount of rain has increased and by the year 2023, the maximum rainfall has been recorded up to 331 mm. Similarly, in the records of the Aerosynoptic Center in Jomsom, the maximum rainfall in Jomsom area was below 300 mm until 2010, but by 2023, the amount of rainfall increased to an annual maximum of 665 mm. is .

According to the Department of Water and Meteorology, the annual average maximum temperature in Nepal is increasing by 0.056 degrees. Although it may sound small, this level of temperature increase has already started to have a big impact.

According to the study of the International Integrated Mountain Development Center (ISMOD), even though the global temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees, the process of snow melting in the Himalayan region has accelerated. Even if this temperature increase can be limited to 1.5 degrees, it is possible that one-third of the snow in the Himalayan area will be melted. "Naturally, the geography of Mustang does not have the ability to bear water". By nature, the geography of Mustang is formed in such a way that there is a lot of snow and very little water. Due to climate change, there has been a change in the pattern of snowfall and rainfall in the Himalayan region. In the areas where the snow is supposed to freeze, the amount of snow falls gradually, the layer becomes thinner when it snows, and because it does not freeze for a long time, the water cannot be absorbed (stored). After the snow gradually melts and the ground water storage becomes empty, the water springs naturally start to dry up,' Dr. Isimod's senior climate change expert. Arunbhakt Shrestha said, "The world is facing three major crises namely climate change, loss of biological diversity and pollution". Among them, the area covered by snow is moving upwards after rain has started falling in the place of snow. Until a few years ago, it used to snow from November to January, now it has stopped snowing in that area.' 

As the water source in the village dries up due to the effect of climate change, the houses of Samjong and Dhye villages are falling apart after the local residents moved to easier places leaving the soil of that land that their ancestors added. Basti ruins and Urathlagda have been built . Fertile farmlands have become horse pastures. The temperature is increasing due to climate change. The pattern of rain and snow has started to change . As the snowfall in winter decreases, the snow line is moving up . As the snow recedes and the snow line moves up, the level of grass growth is also moving up . The wetter the snow in the winter, the better the grass grew. As the line of grass growth is also moving up, the pasture has started to shrink . Since there is no pasture near the settlement, Changra and Chaunri have to be taken much higher to graze. Due to the lack of pasture, animal husbandry is also declining.

"Constantly rising temperature and lack of snowfall in time, the snow line has moved up, the growth of mountain weeds is also moving up as the ground is not wet with low snowfall," said the head of Annapurna Conservation Area Project (ACAP) Lomanthang office. Umesh Paudel said, "climate change has affected the Himalayan pastures due to irregular snowfall and rain". As the grazing area starts to shrink, it seems that the tigers go to the cowsheds and snow leopard attacks increase. Poudel said that work has been started in areas of adaptation such as changing the cow shed of Changra to protect it from attack. According to the 'Snow Update Report', which has been issued continuously for 22 years by Isimod, the Himalayan region has seen the least amount of snow for the second time in 2024. In the study of Isimod, it is mentioned that the snow cover has been decreasing for 13 years .