PMD Issues Drought Alert for Most Parts of Pakistan

The Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued a warning about severe drought-like conditions in some districts of Balochistan due to extreme heatwaves.

According to the alert, a drought-like situation has emerged over most of the high-temperature regions because of the acute weather conditions in the province.

All the concerned entities and stakeholders are required to take pre-emptive measures for the disaster-prone districts.

The ongoing extreme heatwave from mid-March has affected the low rainfall regions in Sindh, Balochistan, south Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and south Punjab, and particularly the Cholistan region, which are all undergoing a drought-like situation.

The heatwave has resulted in severe drought-like conditions in the Chagi district, whereas moderate conditions have emerged over the Kharan, Nushki, and Washuk districts of Balochistan. Similarly, mild drought conditions are prevailing in most of Sindh, south Punjab, and south KP.

Pakistan received significant rainfall in January. However,  there was 21.6 percent lesser rain than usual between February and April, which led to the current situation. These conditions may exacerbate and affect agriculture, water resources, and livestock until mid-June (before the monsoon).

Dry environments and the limited availability of irrigation water for Kharif crops are also likely to cause water stress in the cultivated lands, which will be a cause for concern.