How a Dry Winter Hurt Swat’s Tourism

News Desk 

Swat: The winter that once blanketed Swat’s scenic valleys in snow has arrived without its defining feature—triggering alarm among locals whose livelihoods depend on it.

In Kalam valley, where snowfall traditionally draws thousands of tourists each year, an unusually snowless winter has left hotels empty, businesses idle, and residents anxious about the future.

As pale winter sunlight filters through the pine forests of the Oshu mountains, 57-year-old hotelier Ataullah Khan sits quietly outside his hotel, scanning the road for tourists who rarely arrive without snow.

For nearly three decades, his small hotel used to be fully booked during winter—especially around New Year—when heavy snowfall transformed Kalam into a magnet for tourists and snow sports enthusiasts.

This year, however, the valley has remained largely snowless, a troubling sign not just for Swat’s tourism and hospitality sector, but also for a region increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.