close_game
close_game

Ladakh’s Climate Cup aims to serve as an alarm bell, and an example

BySukanya Datta
Jan 17, 2025 08:18 PM IST

The football tournament targets single-use plastic, promotes local fabrics and serves only local foods. The cup is wooden and was made locally too.

Mohmad Ilyas, 34, has been tossing the ball up, down and around the slopes of Kargil since he was six.

Six teams participated in the second edition of the Climate Cup, in Ladakh last year. PREMIUM
Six teams participated in the second edition of the Climate Cup, in Ladakh last year.

Playing football, at about 11,000 ft above sea level with low atmospheric pressure, has always been hard, he admits. “But in the past five years, it has become even more challenging,” says the member of the Leh-based football club 1 Ladakh FC.

The reason: increased air pollution and heat, and altered atmospheric pressure and wind patterns.

Last July, the cold desert clocked temperatures pushing 37.5 degrees Celsius in a heat-wave-like situation. A 2021 study of meteorological data from the region, along with a survey of Leh households, confirmed that winter temperatures have been rising and the length of the winter, shrinking. Summers, meanwhile, are getting longer and hotter, noted the study by researchers from Bangalore University (published in the journal Geographical Analysis).

Another study, of 77 glaciers in Ladakh, found that the incidence of soot or black carbon — both an air pollutant and warming agent — had more than doubled, since 1984. (The study, by researchers from University of Kashmir, was published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research in 2022).

“We in Ladakh aren’t just thinking of climate change. We’re experiencing it every day. There are water shortages, higher temperatures, extreme weather events, rapid urbanisation,” says Tsering Angmo, general secretary of the Ladakh Football Association. “And whose fault is that? Our own. We’re capturing mountains, building hotels, concretising surfaces. Climate change is our own doing. But what are we doing about it?”

In 2023, the Ladakh Football Association, in association with the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) and the Union Territory of Ladakh administration, found a way to compel locals into being a part of this conversation. A one-of-a-kind football tournament was born, with a clear goal: to do its bit in this battle.

The Climate Cup, which saw six teams from across India compete in the second edition last year, aims to lead by example. Single-use plastic bottles are swapped with refillable ones at this tournament; e-buses ferry players to and from the stadium; volunteers wear jerseys made of recycled textiles. The event only features food and beverages prepared locally, by locals. The wooden trophy is crafted by local artisans, and features Ladakhi motifs.

Last year, a climate summit was held alongside the tournament, to connect athletes, climate activists, eco-preneurs, government officials and journalists. “We in Ladakh are at the forefront of experiencing climate change. The Climate Cup is a way for us to show Ladakhis that we need to clean up our home urgently,” says LAHDC chairman Tashi Gyalson. “And what better way to do that than through sport?”

rec-icon Recommended Topics
Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Taylor Swift, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs.
See More
Catch your daily dose of Fashion, Taylor Swift, Health, Festivals, Travel, Relationship, Recipe and all the other Latest Lifestyle News on Hindustan Times Website and APPs.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On