Kupwara, July 11: Continuing its sustained drive against drug trafficking and the proceeds of narcotics-related crimes, Kupwara Police today attached a residential house valued at ₹14,45,079 under the provisions of Section 68-F of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, officials said.

The attached property belongs to Raj Mohmad Khan, son of Habibullah Khan, a resident of Kakerpati, Diver Lolab, District Kupwara, they said.

A police spokesperson said in a statement, “The attachment has been carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of the NDPS Act as part of the ongoing efforts to curb drug trafficking and target assets acquired through illicit means.”

Srinagar, Jul 11: National Conference (NC) president Dr Farooq Abdullah delivered a sharply worded address at the Dargah Hazratbal on Saturday, accusing successive governments at the Centre of repeatedly failing to keep their word to Jammu and Kashmir, while taking direct aim at political opponents he accused of acting on Delhi’s orders while claiming to represent local interests.

Recalling decades of unfulfilled assurances, Abdullah invoked a meeting during the tenure of former Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao, saying the promise then was that “whatever shortcomings this government has caused, we will certainly look into them and restore matters.” Decades later, he suggested, little had changed. “We too are human beings,” he said. “We too are the crown of India — we too have our dignity here.”

The NC chief also recounted a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi he said he attended alongside senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, telling those present at the time: “It is unfortunate that we do not trust you, and you do not trust us. Let us first build this trust.” He said assurances that the “distance between Delhi and Kashmir” would be narrowed had, in practice, only widened over the years.

Turning combative, Abdullah accused unnamed local rivals of publicly aligning with Delhi’s directives while stirring unrest on the ground. In pointed remarks, he challenged them directly: “Are you ready to sell this state? Are you ready to sell the honour of your own parents?” He urged them to abandon what he called their “servitude” and align instead with the people’s cause, warning that those who betray the state’s poor “will not be kept at peace… the fire of hell awaits them.”

Abdullah countered by pointing to his own party’s efforts on infrastructure and public services, claiming “no one else could have done” as much in as difficult a period, citing work on schools, colleges, hospitals, and roads.

The NC president closed his address on a note of resolve, framing the party’s demand as one of dignity and rights rather than charity: “We are not asking for anything that isn’t ours — we are only asking for our own right, that this right be returned to us.”

Srinagar, Jul 11: Several high-altitude regions of Jammu and Kashmir have warmed by nearly 1°C over the past two decades, with mountain stations experiencing substantially faster warming than lower elevations, according to a new study published in Scientific Reports.

The study, titled “Warming of the high-mountainous climate sensitive Jammu and Kashmir during the period 1980–2024”, warns that the trend could have serious implications for Himalayan glaciers, snow-fed rivers, water security and climate resilience across northern India.

Conducted by Prof. Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath, GS Gopikrishnan and VM Pranav Chandran of the Centre for Ocean, River, Atmosphere and Land Sciences (CORAL) at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, the research analysed ground-based observations and atmospheric reanalysis data covering the period from 1980 to 2024.

The researchers found “a clear pattern of elevation-dependent warming,” with temperatures increasing most rapidly at mountain stations such as Bhaderwah, Pahalgam and Gulmarg, while “lower-elevation areas like Jammu showed comparatively weak or insignificant long-term warming.” The study also found that “night-time minimum temperatures are rising much faster than daytime maximum temperatures, particularly during the pre-monsoon season, signalling profound changes in the Himalayan climate system.”

According to the study, “annual mean temperatures increased by up to 0.3 °C per decade at some mid-elevation stations, while pre-monsoon night-time temperatures rose by as much as 0.6 °C per decade.” The researchers said statistical analyses showed that “changes in snow cover and surface reflectivity largely explain winter warming at higher elevations, whereas increasing atmospheric moisture and enhanced longwave radiation are driving the rapid rise in night-time temperatures throughout the year.”

“The Himalaya is among the most climate-sensitive regions on Earth, and our results show that warming is not uniform across elevations,” said Prof. Jayanarayanan Kuttippurath.

“The accelerated warming observed in mountain regions threatens glaciers, seasonal snow cover, freshwater availability and ecosystem stability, with consequences extending far beyond the Himalayas,” he added.

Lead author GS Gopikrishnan said the sharp rise in minimum temperatures was particularly significant.

“Warmer nights reduce natural cooling, accelerate snow and ice melt, and alter mountain hydrology. These long-term observations provide critical evidence for improving climate projections and adaptation planning in Himalayan regions,” he said.

Prof. Kuttippurath said the findings also shed light on the processes driving mountain warming.

“The interaction between altitude, snow-albedo feedback, atmospheric moisture and radiation creates distinct warming patterns across the complex Himalayan terrain. This knowledge is essential for developing science-based climate adaptation and disaster-risk reduction strategies,” he said.

The researchers cautioned that continued warming “could accelerate glacier retreat, reduce snow storage, alter river flows, increase the likelihood of climate-related hazards, and threaten livelihoods that depend on Himalayan water resources.”

They called for “strengthened mountain climate monitoring, sustained observations and targeted adaptation policies to safeguard one of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems.”