Ladakh – Cold Desert, Life, Landscapes, and Resilience

29 Nov 2023

Life in the Cold Desert’s Harmony and Resilience

Nestled in the northernmost part of India, Ladakh unfolds a mesmerizing tale of life in the cold desert. With its stark landscapes and snow-capped peaks, this region thrives against the odds, showcasing resilient communities and unique cultures that have adapted to the challenging, high-altitude environment. Ladakh’s simplicity is a testament to the harmony between its people and the rugged beauty of the cold desert.

The Cold Desert's Ladakh

  • Region: Ladakh is a cold desert lying in the Great Himalayas , on the eastern side of Jammu and Kashmir.
    • The Karakoram Range in the north and the Zanskar mountains in the south enclose it, a cold desert.
    • Several rivers, including the Indus, flow through Ladakh. The rivers form deep valleys and gorges.
  • Climate: The altitude in Ladakh varies from about 3,000m to 8,000m with an extremely cold and dry climate
    • The air at this altitude is very thin.
    • The day temperatures in summer are just above zero degrees and the night temperatures well below –30°C. 
    • There is little rainfall, as low as 10 cm every year, because it lies in the rain shadow area of the Himalayas.

Additional Information

Ladakh is also known as Khapa-chan which means snow land. Drass, one of the coldest inhabited places on earth is located in Ladakh.

  • Forests and Vegetation: In this region vegetation is sparse. There are scanty patches of grasses and shrubs.
    • Groves of willows and poplars are seen in the valleys, a cold desert.
    • During the summers, fruit trees such as apples, apricots and walnuts bloom.
    • Several species of birds like Robins, redstarts, Tibetan snowcock, raven and hoopoe are seen in Ladakh.
    • The animals of Ladakh are wild goats, wild sheep, and yak
    • These animals are reared to provide for the milk, meat and hides.
  • People: The people here are either Muslims or Buddhists.
    • Several Buddhists monasteries are present here – Hemis, Thiksey, Shey and Lamayuru.
    • In the summer season the people are busy cultivating barley, potatoes, peas, beans and turnips
    • The climate in winter months is extremely harsh and people keep themselves engaged in festivities and ceremonies.

Do you know?

The Chiru or the Tibetan antelope is an endangered species. It is hunted for its wool known as shahtoosh, which is light in weight and extremely warm.

Conclusion

In this chapter, we explored Koeppen’s climate classification system, delving into the diversity of climates around the world. We also examined life in tropical and subtropical regions, highlighting the unique challenges and biodiversity found in these areas. Finally, we discussed the global implications of climate change, underscoring the urgent need for collective action to address this pressing issue, all while considering the context of the cold desert and its relevance to safeguard our planet’s future.

Glossary of Environmental and Geographic 

  • Equator: A line notionally drawn on the earth equidistant from the poles, dividing the earth into northern and southern hemispheres and constituting the parallel of latitude 0°.
  • Climate change: It refers to the long term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.
  • Global warming: The long term warming of the planet’s overall temperature.
  • Ozone hole: The depletion of ozone concentration in the stratosphere is called the ozone hole.
  • Tributaries: These are small rivers that join the main river. The main river along with all its tributaries that drain an area forms a river basin or the catchment area. The Amazon Basin is the largest river basin in the world.
  • Population density: It means the number of persons that live in one sq. km. of area. For example, the population density of Uttarakhand is 189 while that of West Bengal is 1029.
  • Desert: It is an arid region characterized by extremely high or low temperatures and has scarce vegetation.
  • Ladakh: Ladakh is made up of two words – “La” meaning ‘mountain pass’ and “Dak” meaning ‘country’.

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