Himachal Pradesh's Rs 5,000 crore apple economy is facing a sharp climate squeeze this year, with unseasonal rains, hailstorms and erratic weather set to cut production by nearly 40%. The state's apple output stood at 6.99 lakh metric tonnes in 2025, but production is projected to decline by 2.63 lakh metric tonnes, or nearly 2.15 crore boxes, to around 4.36 lakh metric tonnes in 2026. Apple cultivation remains the backbone of the farm economy across eight districts of the state. The decline in apple production is expected to affect around 2.5 lakh families associated with apple farming. Growers are grappling with rising cultivation costs and a desperate need for improved irrigation and crop insurance. The area under apple cultivation stands at around 1.16 lakh hectares, accounting for nearly 49% of the state's total fruit crop area of 2.37 lakh hectares. The decline in apple production is attributed to a mix of adverse weather conditions, including insufficient winter snowfall, untimely spring rains, hailstorms and fluctuating temperatures. The state's horticulture department has appealed to the government to improve irrigation infrastructure and increase awareness about crop insurance schemes so that farmers can recover at least part of their losses.