Climatic Keratopathy in Snow Laden Hilly Areas

Spheroidal degeneration, reported as a rare entity in western literature is a common ocular morbidity in some parts of India. It is commonly seen in persons who are exposed to intense sun light (excess UV radiation) reflected off the surface of the sea, snow and sand. The State of Himachal Pradesh lies in the northern part of India. Himachal Pradesh occupies an area of 55,673 sq km. It forms a key and central part of the Indian Himalayan region (IHR). The IHR region covers vast areas, with about 17 percent of the region being under permanent snow cover and glaciers and about 30-40 percent under seasonal snow cover, forming a unique water reservoir. High level of UV radiation reflected from snow have been implicated in pathology of spheroidal degeneration which may be one of reasons that prevalence of spheroidal degeneration is more in snowy areas of himachal. The author tends to report a case series of few cases of spheroidal degeneration.