Latest Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) data has revealed that Pakistan’s water reserves are depleting swiftly, worsening the country’s water shortage.
The country’s usable water reserves are currently at 3.856 million acre-feet, which is a considerable drop of 188,000 acre-feet from the day before.
There are significant worries over the sustainability of water resources in the upcoming weeks given the total decline of 723,000 acre-feet that has been observed in the last four days alone.
According to WAPDA’s report, river inflows have significantly decreased, with the Indus River seeing a 10,000 cusec drop in water flow.
Likewise, there has been a 2,600 cusec decline in the Jhelum River and a 2,500 cusec decline in the Chashma Barrage.
The Chenab River, on the other hand, had a minor rise in inflows, which increased by 500 cusecs to 19,800 cusecs overall.
But according to experts, this slight improvement is not enough to counteract the overall drop in water availability.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called for cooperation from the provinces and the federation, stressing the significance of constructing additional water reservoirs as a national priority a day ago.
He chaired a high-level meeting on Pakistan’s water security and stated, “The construction of non-disputed water reservoirs must be completed on a fast track.”
He also promised that new dams would only be built with the approval of all provinces.
