Winter’s harsh grip on Northern Pakistan: daily life transformed by snow, cold
Snow may transform the landscape into a postcard of icy beauty, but beneath that serenity lies a complex balancing act of preparation, patience and resilience
By Safeer Raza
GILGIT-BALTISTAN, Pakistan (MNTV) — As winter advances across northern Pakistan, life in the high mountain valleys is reshaped by severe cold, heavy snowfall and cascading impacts on infrastructure, energy supply and local economies.
From Gilgit and Skardu to remote settlements across Hunza, Nagar, Ghizer and Diamer, residents are confronting months of isolation as temperatures dip well below freezing and crucial arteries of travel and trade turn treacherous.
In late February and again in November, authorities reported the first major snowfalls of the season, blocking sections of the Karakoram Highway, Baltistan Road and numerous rural connectors.
Speaking to MNTV, a resident of Skardu, Muhammad Zuhayr said in Balti language “we say for six months we have winter, and for six months we have extreme winters”.
The accumulation of snow left surfaces dangerously slick and, in many cases, impassable, effectively sealing off communities for days at a time.
Beyond the forecasts, the lived reality across the region is a daily negotiation with the cold. According to Muhammad Zuhayr winter also triggers a seasonal movement of vulnerable groups.
“In winters there is usually a limited migration of elderly and children, usually from mid-November to around April, to cities like Rawalpindi and Islamabad,” he explained.
Families that can afford it relocate temporarily, seeking relief from the biting cold and better access to healthcare during the months when altitude, temperature and isolation combine to create risk.
Inside the homes that remain occupied, heating becomes both a necessity and a craft refined over generations. “With more winters, there is more usage of heaters,” Zuhayr said, “but in our part of the country, we have dried wood, which we light in a furnace called bhaari.”
The bhaari is a traditional fireplace engineered for efficiency: one opening faces the common living room, while another opens to the outside, allowing a steady supply of timber and a clear exit for ash.
Residents feed it continuously through the night, maintaining warmth in households where temperatures outside are hostile to even short exposures.
To supplement heating, locals also modify the architecture of their homes for insulation. Walls are lined from the inside with foam topped by wooden panels, creating a barrier that traps heat and softens the sharp difference between indoor and outdoor temperatures.
Zuhayr noted that these methods vary across the region. “There is also a difference of latitudes and climatic differences which affect rain, dryness and snowfall. So different areas have developed slightly varied methods to cope with the winters.”
In higher-elevation pockets of upper Hunza or Kharmang, snow arrives earlier and stays longer, shaping distinct local strategies for survival.
Power struggles in dark
Hydropower — the backbone of the region’s electricity — becomes unreliable as rivers partially freeze in deep winter.
Zuhayr told MNTV that Gilgit and adjoining areas endure extensive load shedding, with outages at times lasting more than 20 hours a day which is why they have to use wood fire.
Many households revert to wood-burning stoves, kerosene heaters and small diesel generators, though the latter remain unaffordable for most. Prolonged blackouts have also fueled public frustration, leading to protests such as the demonstrations in Aliabad in early 2025 that blocked the Karakoram Highway.
Winter slows commerce across the northern highlands. Tourism collapses, shop hours shorten and freight vehicles face long delays.
Prices of essential goods rise as transportation becomes unpredictable. Yet residents continue to innovate: in Skardu and surrounding valleys, “ice stupas” — man-made glaciers designed to conserve winter water for spring — are emerging as important climate-adaptation tools.
Warming from Inside: cuisine as medicine
Food traditions also play a central role in coping with the cold. Another resident, Shams Kainat, highlighted the cultural and medicinal importance of winter cuisine.
“We make a traditional soup called dawdo, which is made from domestic yak, an animal that is only available in winters,” she said.
The broth, thickened with small pieces of flatbread and seasoned with simple spices, is prized for its ability to warm the body. “After you consume the soup, you have to sit around a fire, especially if you are sick. It lets the sweat out, and the sickness, which is related to cold, can go away.”
While several types of soups are prepared across Gilgit-Baltistan, dawdo remains the primary and most potent remedy in households that battle recurrent colds, congestion and winter fatigue.
Families often gather around the fire after dinner, sharing stories as the warmth seeps back into their limbs — a quiet but enduring ritual of winter life.
Season of hardship and heritage
For long-time residents, winter is not merely a climate but a test of endurance — one that exposes infrastructural weaknesses even as it reinforces communal bonds.
Snow may transform the landscape into a postcard of icy beauty, but beneath that serenity lies a complex balancing act of preparation, patience and resilience.
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