Sonam Wangchuk Among TIME’s Most Influential Climate Leaders 2025

TIME magazine has included Sonam Wangchuk in its list of The 100 Most Influential Climate Leaders of 2025. An engineer and social activist from Ladakh, Wangchuk was recognized for combining traditional knowledge with modern science to address climate challenges.

He is best known for creating ice stupas — artificial glaciers that store winter water and release it during summer to help farmers in high-altitude regions. TIME noted that in 2015, Wangchuk modernized this ancient practice by running a mile-long pipe from a glacier stream to his village, pioneering a new way to conserve water.

In September, Wangchuk and his supporters launched a hunger strike demanding full statehood and Sixth Schedule status for Ladakh. Following violent protests in Leh, he was arrested and is currently lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail under the National Security Act (NSA).

His wife, Gitanjali J Angmo, later wrote on X that while TIME recognized him as one of the world’s most influential people, the government has labeled him “anti-national” and a “security threat.”

Wangchuk also founded the Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) to reform local education and the Himalayan Institute of Alternatives, Ladakh (HIAL), which trains youth to tackle environmental and social issues in the Himalayan region.

Wangchuk has received several honors, including the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2018), the title of Eminent Technologist of the Himalayan Region by IIT Mandi (2018), and the Global Award for Sustainable Architecture (2017).