Pakistan Water Gateway

Pakistan has in most areas of agriculture a monsoon climate, and there might be abundant rainfall during the wet season and then a very long dry season where crop production depends very heavily on irrigation water. Groundwater is a very important source of irrigation for farmers.

Millions of people in Asia and the Pacific could have access to clean water if leaks were plugged and water utility reforms adopted, says a new study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“While Asia and the Pacific is increasingly facing a major water crisis, we see unacceptable levels of water being lost through leaks and inefficiencies,” said Bindu Lohani, ADB’s Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development. “By cutting the amount of lost water in half, 150 million people could be supplied with treated water.”

World Water Week is hosted and organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute every year. It has been the annual focal point for the globe's water issues since 1991.

Since 2008, ADB has been organizing Eye on Asia, a day-long series of activities for World Water Week that highlights issues and challenges in the region’s water sector, along with efforts of governments and development agencies to address them.

ADB's Water Operational Plan 2011–2020, developed in consultation with a wide range of water stakeholders from the region, guides ADB's water operations to improve effectiveness and enhance the quality development outcomes. The Plan responds to the region’s multi-dimensional water crisis, including the complex issue of closing the gap in water supply and demand.

The UN Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific Statistical Yearbook for 2011 states that changing weather patterns across the world have increased the occurrence and intensity of the earth’s natural hazards such as torrential rain, floods, droughts and cyclones; which affect countries such as Australia, China, Myanmar and, most importantly, Pakistan.

Pakistan, a country of enchanting landscapes offers a combination of beaches, mountains, beautiful deserts and valleys. Its vast farm lands are sustained by the Indus Basin Irrigation System (IBIS), the largest contiguous irrigation system in the world. The IBIS irrigates 45 million acres of farm land which produces wheat, rice, fruits, vegetables, sugarcane, maize and cotton in abundance for local use as well as for export.

More than two billion people worldwide live in regions facing water scarcity and in Pakistan this is a particularly acute crisis. Millions of Pakistanis currently lack access to clean drinking water, and the situation is only getting worse. Pakistan has approximately 35 million acres (140,000 km2) of arable land irrigated by canals and tube wells, mostly using water from the Indus River.
 

Water is essential for the survival of all living things. Without water, humans would die in a few days, crops would not grow and food would run short. In Pakistan, due to the increase in population, per-capital water resources estimated at the time of Partition at 5000m3/year are expected to fall below 1000m3/year in the near future. Pakistan will shortly become a water- stressed country. It is crucial, therefore, to consider the state of water quality.

Attribution of recent climate change is the effort to scientifically demonstrate which mechanisms are responsible for observed changes in the Earth's climate. 

The endeavor centers on the observed changes over the last century and in particular over the last 50 years, when observations are best and human influence greatest.

Climate change is causing a late wake-up call from hibernation for a species of Rocky Mountain ground squirrel and the effect is deadly. 

A University of Alberta-led international research team examined data on a population of Columbian ground squirrels and found a trend of late spring snow falls has delayed the animals' emergence from hibernation by 10 days over the last 20 years.