ISLAMABAD: Pakistan fears lower production as a “severe” winter drought has ravaged several crops in the country’s breadbasket, an official said on Sunday, stressing the need to build more water reservoirs and restore wetlands.
The South Asian country — home to more than 240 million people — ranks among the nations that are most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, which scientists say is making extreme weather events more common and more severe.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), rainfall from Sept. 1 to Jan. 15 was 40 percent below normal across Pakistan, with Sindh, Balochistan, and Punjab being the most affected provinces with deficits of 52 percent, 45 percent, and 42 percent respectively.
Muhammad Saleem Shaikh, a spokesperson for Pakistani climate change ministry, said the ongoing severe drought is in fact part of a larger trend of increasing climate variability that threatens to disrupt agriculture and exacerbate water shortages, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“Reduced water availability due to low rainfall was adversely impacting the growth of crops like wheat, a staple food, as well as vital cash crops like potato, leading to fears of lower production and rising food prices and their shortages in future,” he was quoted as saying.
“The ongoing winter drought conditions in the country underscore the urgent need for a unified response to address the country’s water crisis.”
The agriculture sector contributes nearly a quarter of Pakistan’s gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 37 percent of the national labor force, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization.
Pakistan generally relies on water from the Indus river which bisects the country from north to south, where it empties into the Arabian Sea.
But analysts say a fast-growing population, climate change and poor resource management with an over-reliance on a single water source are all spurring scarcity.
Shaikh said building water reservoirs, restoring wetlands and promoting drought-tolerant crop varieties is vital to mitigating recurring and intensifying drought risks in the country.
“Rainwater harvesting, groundwater recharge and the adoption of modern irrigation methods like drip and sprinkler systems are no longer optional,” he said. “They are critical tools in our survival weaponry.”
Pakistan fears lower production as ‘severe’ drought dents winter harvest
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Pakistan fears lower production as ‘severe’ drought dents winter harvest
- Pakistan ranks among countries most vulnerable to climate change, which scientists say is making extreme weather events more common and more severe
- Analysts say a fast-growing population, climate change and poor resource management with an over-reliance on Indus River are all spurring water scarcity
TV reporter dies after falling from rooftop during Pakistan kite-flying festival
- Pakistan's Lahore marked the Basant festival on Feb. 6-8 after the Punjab government lifted an 18-year-old ban on kite flying
- Malik Zain, a reporter affiliated with GNN news channel, fell from a four-storey building while flying a kite, Lahore police say
ISLAMABAD: A television reporter died after falling from a rooftop while flying a kite during the Basant spring festival in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, police and hospital authorities confirmed on Sunday.
Pakistan's Lahore marked the Basant festival on Feb. 6-8 after the Punjab provincial government this year lifted a ban on kite flying after 18 years, with extensive safety measures in place.
The festival, which marks the onset of spring, was banned in 2008 after deaths and injuries to motorcyclists and pedestrians from stray kite strings, sometimes coated with metal to make them more formidable in mid-air battles.
Malik Zain, a reporter affiliated with private news channel GNN, fell from the rooftop of a building during the final day of Basant celebrations in the eastern Pakistani city, according to police.
"Lahore journalist Malik Zain died after falling from the fourth floor while flying a kite in Gulshan-e-Ravi during Basant," the Lahore police said in a statement.
The reporter was shifted to the government-run Mian Munshi District Headquarters Hospital where he was pronounced dead, with cardiopulmonary arrest mentioned as the cause of death.
"Head injury due to fall from height," hospital authorities diagnosed in their report into Zain’s death.
The development came hours after Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz extended timings for Basant till early Monday morning.
“I am pleased to announce that Basant celebrations timings are being extended till 5:00 AM tomorrow morning,” CM Nawaz said in an X post on Sunday, highlighting the festivity, unity and joy across Lahore.
“This extension is a reward for the people of Lahore for celebrating Basant with great discipline and for responsibly following all safety SOPs (standard operating procedures).”
The Punjab government banned the use of metallic or chemical-coated strings during the festival. Kites and strings had to bear individual QR codes so they could be traced, and motorcyclists had to attach safety rods to their bikes to fend off stray thread.
Some 4,600 producers had registered with the authorities to sell kites and strings ahead of the festival. Authorities had made it mandatory for owners to register rooftops with 30 or more revelers, while dozens of roofs had been declared off-limits after inspections.
