Water Inflows Increased By 37%

LAHORE: Snow melting on northern mountains has improved water inflows into key reservoirs of Pakistan as temperatures have risen.

According to new statistics from the Indus River System Authority, inflows increased by 37% in the previous week, with the system receiving 158,347 cusecs of water in all of its rivers on May 7 compared to 98,852 cusecs a week before.

Tarbela Dam, the country’s largest water reservoir, improved by 16 feet after reaching a dead level of 1,392 feet on February 22. The water level reached 1,408 feet on May 7. The inflow into Tarbela was 62,400 cusecs on Saturday, while the outflow was 51,000 cusecs.

The situation at Mangla Dam has improved significantly, with the water level now standing at 1,081 feet, up from 1,074 feet a week ago. Three weeks earlier, this reservoir had also nearly reached the dead level of 1,050 feet. At the weekend, data shows an average water input of 30,890 cusecs and an outflow of 33,315 cusecs.

The water inflow into Chenab at Marala increased from 13,174 cusecs on April 30 to 21,057 cusecs on May 7.

Despite an early summer in mid-March, the delayed melting of the snow has put a strain on national water resources, which have fallen well below the five-year normal. The Kharif season began with a 40% shortfall — 30% in the Indus and 10% in the Jhelum arm — that increased to 52% by the end of April.

The situation in Mangla was more hazardous, because the dam is mostly rain-fed, and there has been almost no rain in March and April. Only one of the five rainy periods forecast by the Met Office happened in March.

The snowfall in the country’s mountainous regions has also decreased dramatically this season, with only 37 inches reported compared to an annual normal of 50 inches. This snow has also fallen at higher elevations when temperatures of over 23 degrees Celsius are required to melt it.

Farmers in Sindh and Balochistan, who have been struck hard by the water deficit, have protested on the roadways and organised sit-ins at irrigation offices.