Photos: Climate change ravages Kashmir's 'red gold' saffron crop

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Photos: Climate change ravages Kashmir's 'red gold' saffron crop

It takes around 160,000 flowers to yield one kilogram of the precious spice

Published: December 23, 2020 12:53 AFP and Compiled by Christian Borbon, Senior Web Editor

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Copy of 236509-01-02-1608713163031 — On sweeping fields once blanketed in lush purple, a thin and bedraggled crop of flowers is all farmers in Indian-administered Kashmir's saffron-growing region Pampore have to show for this year's harvest. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236510-01-02-1608713147809 — Dry conditions blamed on climate change have seen yields of the world's most expensive spice halved in the past two decades, threatening the future of a cash crop that has brought wealth to the region for 2,500 years. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236491-01-02-1608713167909 — "These fields used to be like goldmines," said Abdul Ahad Mir in Pampore, just south of Indian-administered Kashmir's main city Srinagar. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236499-01-02-1608713180854 — Saffron has long thrived there, and Mir's family was reared in the delicate work of plucking the lucrative but tiny crimson threads from purple crocus flowers. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236506-01-02-1608713142271 — Warming temperatures caused by climate change have made rainfall erratic, depleting the thirsty saffron fields of water. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236512-01-02-1608713152959 — It takes around 160,000 flowers to yield one kilogram of the precious spice, which will sell for around $1,350 in local markets. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236511-01-02-1608713150212 — But official figures show that harvests of the so-called "red gold" were just 1.4 kilograms per hectare in 2018 - half the figure recorded in 1998. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236502-01-02-1608713165775 — The harvest season - which lasts for just two weeks at the end of autumn - has also been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236504-01-02-1608713139520 — Historians say saffron has been cultivated in Kashmir since at least 500 BC. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236493-01-02-1608713170397 — Locally the spice is added to traditional dishes and used as an ingredient in Kehwa, a sweet drink served during special occasions such as marriages. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236494-01-02-1608713173016 — Elsewhere in the world, it is prized for its use in cooking and cosmetics and can fetch prices of more than $10,000 per kilogram on the international market. Image Credit: AFP

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Copy of 236495-01-02-1608713175514 — Nearly 90 percent of the world's saffron is grown in Iran, but experts consider Kashmir's crop to be superior for its deep red colour and distinct aroma. Image Credit: AFP

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Photos: Climate change ravages Kashmir's 'red gold' saffron crop

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Photos: Climate change ravages Kashmir's 'red gold' saffron crop

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