Dharamshala, Oct. 29 -- The tourist sector, which contributed 7.8% to Himachal's Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) in 2024-25, is facing growing risks from declining snowfall and extreme weather events in the state, states the Himachal Pradesh Human Development Report 2025, released on Monday. The report, prepared by the Himachal Pradesh government in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), outlined that these risks reduce visitor inflows and threaten hospitality-dependent livelihoods. Disasters have become a recurring feature of the monsoon season in Himachal in recent years, causing extensive damage to life and property across the state. This year too, excessive rains wreaked havoc in the hill state. The report said that during the monsoon season this year (2025), the cumulative loss of public and private property has cost the state over Rs.4,800 crore. Extreme climate events have frequently caused widespread damage or complete destruction of critical infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and buildings. Transportation networks are highly vulnerable to the rising frequency and intensity of landslides and slope failures, often triggered by heavy rainfall and cloudbursts. These events lead to road blockages, isolating communities, stranding tourists, and severely disrupting the supply of essential goods and services. "Climate change acts both as an inhibitor and a catalyst for the tourism sector. The former can be seen through the shifting snowfall patterns that have significantly impacted winter tourism. Furthermore, reduced snowfall affects winter sports, while lower river levels disrupt rafting, boating, and fishing. Data indicate a 37% reduction in snowfall in Shimla between 1990 and 2020, with delayed occurrences directly disrupting livelihoods dependent on this season," the report states. The report further outlines that the increasing frequency of extreme climate events - cloudbursts, landslides, flash floods, avalanches, Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs), and forest fires - poses a direct threat to local communities and tourist spots. "The Spiti valley, part of the dry Trans-Himalayan zone, has started to witness an increased number of cloudbursts in the past few years. As a result, the Tabo Monastery, which isthe oldest continuously functioning monastery of Tibetan Buddhism, recently sought support from the Archaeological Survey of India for climate-proofing the structure made of mud ahead of the monsoon season," it says....