New Delhi: In the chilly winter of Ladakh, a game of ice hockey can feel like a warm hug. As the temperatures dip and the lakes freeze, the locals pour water to firm up the surface more and play on them.

Ice hockey is an activity that the community looks forward to. Natural ice conditions are perfect for several winter sports. While most sports complexes rely on artificial methods to create ice rinks for hockey, Ladakh stands apart with its naturally formed rinks. Here, nature provides the infrastructure, transforming ponds and lakes into perfect ice hockey arenas.

The game is community-driven, culturally embedded and visually appealing, but more importantly, it is one of their few sources of entertainment in those months. The second season of the Royal Enfield Ice Hockey League, which begins in Ladakh on Thursday, furthers the region’s favourite sport.

“We have a three-month shutdown, the schools and everything else are shut. Ice hockey or ice skating were the only sports we played during winters,” says Diskit Angmo, who has been part of the Indian women’s ice hockey team since its inception in 2016. She was speaking at the inaugural Journeying Across the Himalayas festival in December.

Climate crisis

While winter sports like ice hockey grow in popularity or receive a boost, they are threatened by global warming – a crisis that is likely to affect them the most, and at a time when it’s most suitable to grow.

HT reported in 2021 that Ladakh, which lies in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region, saw a rise of 1.3°C in the winter chill between 1951 and 2014. This warming has contributed to a significant decline in snowfall and the retreat of glaciers in several parts of the region.

The 2024 International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) report spanning 2003-2024 on the significant fluctuations in snow persistence during the accumulation season (November–April) says that there is below average snow persistence in the HKH region this winter.

“The most affected sport in Ladakh will be ice hockey. We are completely dependent on the weather. If there’s no ice, there’s no sport.” says Angmo.

India recorded its warmest October in 123 years, with unprecedented night time and mean temperatures, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), HT reported on November 1.

“Early December was not even cold; snowfall and ice freezing is scarce. Where should we practice? The season is shrinking. Our sport will be the first to be endangered because of climate change” says Padma Chorol, who has also been part of the team since 2016.

Most players in the national team hold full-time jobs in the Indo-Tibetan Border Police, the army, Ladakh Scouts, work in NGOs or run their own businesses. They are not dependent on income or success in the sport, but with the climate crisis worsening, it seems that realising the dream of making ice hockey a career looks far-fetched.

Growth vs sustainability

Bidisha Dey, executive director of Royal Enfield’s CSR arm, acknowledges the challenge climate change poses as a stakeholder keen to develop the sport, but remains optimistic.

“The season is shrinking, the glaciers are melting, and so in tandem with developing something that is close to the community, we see what the relation of a sport like this has to climate crisis; so, we are working in the backdrop to build climate resilience,” says Dey.

Former President of the Olympians Association of India (OAI) and luger Shiva Kesavan, cites the example of Iceland, which has a sports infrastructure that functions independent of the environmental conditions.

“Saudi Arabia is hosting the 2029 winter Asian Games. If they can do it, we have 3,000km of Himalayas, we have 50 million people living in these areas – we surely can invest more in it,” he says.

“Sport changes depending on where you are – if you are in a coastal area, in a mountain or in a city, you have access to different kinds of sports,” adds Kesavan. The six-time Olympian said the government must pour more into zone-specific development to combat the challenge specifically in the Himalayan range.

With the upcoming Harbin Games 2025 and Milano Cortina 2026, Kesavan is hopeful of a better outing in winter sports by India, but acknowledges that more needs to be done for the country’s Winter Games athletes to make a mark.