Extreme Water Crisis In Pakistan
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Pakistan is facing its worst shortage in decades, with water from the mighty Indus river reduced to 40pc of its normal flow.
Compared to previous years the country received 26pc less snowfall last winter, followed by a completely dry spell in March and April. This means that Pakistan’s rivers are now running dry. In fact, the two largest reservoirs of the country, Tarbela and Mangla, have hit dead levels much earlier than expected.
This is a very alarming and precarious situation as a very large number of people in the affected areas are on the verge of losing their crops and livestock.
Due to multiple factors such as climate change, overpopulation, mismanagement of the water economy, primitive irrigation practices, an outdated water transmission infrastructure, lack of reservoirs, etc, Pakistan is very likely to become "the most water-stressed nation in the region by 2040". Pakistan already ranks 14th among the 17 ‘extremely high water risk regions in the world.
The present crisis should be a wake-up call for all regional authorities. They must realize that like water we are running short of time and options too.