Leaf fossils show Kashmir was once subtropical before Pir Panjal uplift
On 10 July 2025, DST said BSIP Lucknow scientists, studying ~4-million-year-old leaf fossils from Kashmir's Karewa sediments, linked the valley's shift from a warm, humid subtropical climate to the uplift of the Pir Panjal Range.
Summary
Scientists of the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology, found that the Kashmir Valley, now with a cool Mediterranean-type climate, was once warm, humid and subtropical, the DST said on 10 July 2025. Studying fossil leaves about 4 million years old from the Karewa sediments, from the collection curated by the late Prof. Birbal Sahni and Dr G.S. Puri, Dr Harshita Bhatia, Dr Reyaz Ahmad Dar and Dr Gaurav Srivastava linked the change to the tectonic uplift of the Pir Panjal Range, which blocked the Indian summer monsoon from reaching the valley. The team used CLAMP (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program) and the coexistence approach, and the study was published in Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Key facts
- Institute
- BSIP, Lucknow (autonomous, DST)
- Fossils
- ~4-million-year-old leaves, Karewa sediments, Kashmir Valley
- Finding
- Past warm, humid subtropical climate; now cool Mediterranean-type
- Cause
- Uplift of the Pir Panjal Range blocked the summer monsoon
- Method
- CLAMP and coexistence approach
- Journal
- Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
Practice MCQs 3 questions
Scientists of which institute studied Karewa leaf fossils to reconstruct Kashmir's ancient climate (reported July 2025)?
Show answer
Correct answer: D — Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow
DST: researchers from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow, carried out the study.
The BSIP study linked the change in Kashmir's climate to the uplift of which mountain range, which blocked the summer monsoon?
Show answer
Correct answer: A — Pir Panjal Range
DST: the researchers linked the shift to the tectonic uplift of the Pir Panjal Range, which blocked the Indian summer monsoon from reaching the valley.
Which method did the BSIP scientists use to estimate past temperature and rainfall from the shape, size and margins of fossil leaves?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — CLAMP (Climate Leaf Analysis Multivariate Program)
DST: using CLAMP, the scientists examined the shape, size and margins of fossil leaves to determine temperature and rainfall patterns, cross-checked with the coexistence approach.