Pakistan is among the top 10 countries that are affected by climate change. Although there was a warning issued by UNDP that Pakistan will be a water-stressed country by 2025, we have seen Pakistan already observing water stress three years early. Pakistan has seen an abrupt increase in daily maximum temperature in March. The high-intensity major heatwave lasted 41 days (11th March to 19th April 2022) followed by a short heatwave of 6 days (27th April to 2nd May 2022) of relatively low intensity. National rainfall for the month of April 2022 was 74% below normal and ranked 2nd driest month since 1961( Pakistan Met Department).
This has a severe effect on the wheat crop which was at the time of pollination and its grain was maturing. As a result, Pakistan has missed the wheat production target by 2.5% with a projected 26.8 million tons of output for 2021-22 from an area of 8.99 million hectares.
The catastrophe caused by the severe heatwave in the Cholistan impacted the water reservoirs, vegetation and livestock badly. Heat stress situations arose in the Cholistan region. The severe heatwave is now alarming the onset of drought in the coming days in the Cholistan region. Keeping in view the impact of the heatwave, the drought-like situation has emerged over most of the high-temperature regions of the country.
Land Surface Temperature (LST) °C of Pakistan April 2022. Drought condition of Pakistan May 2022
Image source: https://ndmc.pmd.gov.pk/new/
Depressing yields and outputs in the 2022-23 crop season have caused rising prices of fertilizers and other energy-intensive products. Pakistan’s rupee has depreciated from 160/USD in 2020-21 to 200/USD (21 May 2022). This currency depreciation means that imported food or anything that goes into food is more expensive domestically. (Food and Agriculture Organization)
At the same time, Lumpy skin Disease has caused losses due to a sharp drop in milk production, fertility problems, abortions, damaged skins and hides, decreased weight gain, and sometimes death in livestock.
Combating climate change in Pakistan will require a long-term joint effort by the government and the general public, but it also requires access to international funding as Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries when it comes to climate change. Only then can Pakistan truly embrace all aspects of climate security and save a country from the brink of becoming a barren land that lacks water.
SAWIE is working to develop sustainable agriculture practices. It has developed a knowledge centre covering seed-to-seed advisory about growing crops. It is promoting water-saving practices that include ridges planting, use of zero tillage, mulching and user of better crop rotations. SAWIE.net/ provides Climate Smart Agriculture Advisory using Satellite and ground data. It provides real-time weather data, and crop health for the application of irrigation, fertiliser, and pesticides. The aim is to increase water productivity, reduce farmer losses and protect our natural environment through Sustainable Agriculture.
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