Officials use soccer to highlight climate worries in India’s ecologically fragile Ladakh region

By AIJAZ HUSSAIN
Associated Press

SRINAGAR, India (AP) — A first of its kind “climate-friendly” soccer tournament is underway in India’s remote desert region of Ladakh, an ecologically fragile territory where oxygen is thin and breathing is hard. The organizers say the matches are first in Asia to be held at an altitude of 11,000 feet — about 3,350 meters — and with a minimum carbon footprint. Electric buses are used for transporting players to the soccer stadium, and anything made out of plastic is prohibited on the premises. Ladakh is an inhospitable yet pristine region of high mountain passes and vast river valleys that in the past was an important part of the famed Silk Road trade route.