Kashmir lakes shrink under climate stress, pollution and unchecked development

A government audit recorded that Jammu and Kashmir had 697 lakes in 1967, but 315 had vanished and 203 had shrunk by the time of the review. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has ordered authorities to intensify conservation measures for Kashmir’s major lakes, pushing for scientific management and sustained monitoring as the basin’s waters continue to retreat.

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India, examining lake management from 2017-18 to 2021-22, recorded that 518 of those 697 lakes had lost area. The vanished lakes covered 1,537.07 hectares, while the lakes that shrank lost another 1,314.19 hectares. Conservation efforts were concentrated on only six water bodies, Dal Lake, Wular Lake, Hokersar Wetland, Manasbal Lake, Surinsar Lake and Mansar Lake, leaving many smaller lakes without a comprehensive plan.

On Dal Lake, wooden shikaras still move through water beneath the Himalayas, but the water can irritate bare hands, forcing some workers to wear gloves. Heat, erratic rainfall, invasive plants, declining water levels and unplanned urban growth have all pressed on the lake’s boundaries and water quality.

In September 2025, Manoj Sinha said Dal Lake had become cleaner after five years of conservation work and that economic development has to be balanced with environmental protection. Peer-reviewed research using monthly data from 2003 to 2024 showed progressive deterioration in Dal Lake’s surface-water quality, and another study using monitoring data from 2019 to 2023 across Hazaratbal, Nishat, Nagin and Gagribal linked the lake’s changes to damage in tourism, fishing and other economic pursuits.