Low snowfall and receding glaciers threaten livelihoods in the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh and Zanskar in Ladakh. Meet the scientists and activists working for local solutions. A joint initiative by Aga Khan University, Aga Khan Agency for Habitat, Aga Khan Foundation and University of Central Asia – the film series is produced by filmmakers from Pakistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and India.

Episode Director: Munmun Dhalaria

Series Producer: Andrew Tkach

​

From the Pamirs in Central Asia to the Karakoram and Himalayas of South Asia - the roof of the world, Earth’s largest repository of ice outside the poles, is melting. Increasingly frequent mountain disasters have put billions of lives at risk. Endangered wild species like the Snow Leopard are suffering suffer and so are the 1.65 billion people dependent on these mountains and some of Asia’s mightiest rivers originating here. In the villages of the upper Indian Himalayas, life revolves around basic survival in an uninhabitable environment.

The snow that makes half the year unlivable, is also the lifeblood of the agrarian populations that depends on it for the only harvest of the year. Today, low snowfall and receding glaciers threaten livelihoods in this region forcing them to become climate refugees.