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
Death toll in Pakistan shopping plaza fire rises to 67, officials say
- Rescue teams still searching for damaged Gul Plaza in Karachi where blaze erupted on Saturday, says police surgeon
- Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement
KARACHI: The death toll from a devastating fire at a shopping plaza in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi jumped to 67 on Thursday after police and a hospital official confirmed that the remains of dozens more people had been found.
Police surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said rescue teams were still searching the severely damaged Gul Plaza in the Karachi, where the blaze erupted on Saturday.
Most remains were discovered in fragments, making identification extremely difficult, but the deaths of 67 people have been confirmed, she said. Asad Raza, a senior police official in Karachi, also confirmed the death toll. Authorities previously had confirmed 34 deaths.
Family members of the missing have stayed near the destroyed plaza and hospital, even after providing their DNA for testing. Some have tried to enter the building forcibly, criticizing the rescue efforts as too slow.
“They are not conducting the search properly,” said Khair-un-Nisa, pointing toward the rescuers. She stood outside the building in tears, explaining that a relative who had left to go shopping has been missing since the blaze.
Another woman, Saadia Saeed, said her brother has been trapped inside the building since Saturday night, and she does not know what has happened to him.
“I am ready to go inside the plaza to look for him, but police are not allowing me,” she said.
There was no immediate comment from authorities about accusations they have been too slow.
Many relatives of the missing claim more lives could have been saved if the government had acted more swiftly. Authorities have deployed police around the plaza to prevent relatives from entering the unstable structure, while rescuers continue their careful search.
Investigators say the blaze erupted at a time when most shop owners were either closing for the day or had already left. Since then, the Sindh provincial government has said around 70 people were missing after the flames spread rapidly, fueled by goods such as cosmetics, clothing, and plastic items.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation, though police have indicated that a short circuit may have triggered the blaze.
Karachi has a long history of deadly fires, often linked to poor safety standards, weak regulatory enforcement, and illegal construction.
In November 2023, a shopping mall fire killed 10 people and injured 22. One of Pakistan’s deadliest industrial disasters occurred in 2012, when a garment factory fire killed at least 260 people.
