PSIR

Permanent URI for this community

https://escholar.umt.edu.pk/handle/123456789/5330

Browse

Browsing PSIR by Author "Alishbah Anwar"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Climate Change
    (UMT.lahore, 2022) Alishbah Anwar
    Herein research, the implications of changing climatic patterns on production of agriculture in Pakistan, a country that is heavily reliant on agriculture, are explored. Using secondary data, the study revealed indication of climate change and its serious effects on the country's already inadequate and devastated natural resources. Climate change has a number of major effects, including temperature increases; changes in precipitation patterns, increased glacier melt, humid conditions, and enlarged irrigation water demand. Furthermore, the study looks at Pakistan's irrigation infrastructure and volume, as well as irrigation water crises, domestic and international trans-boundary water disputes, food scarcity, and high food inflation rates. Low agricultural output owing to a lack of irrigation water is the major cause of food scarcity. In spite of having largest irrigation system of world, water scarcity has forced farmers to convert from water intensive crops such as rice, wheat, cotton, and sugarcane to low-water crops and vegetables, putting greater pressure on the food market. Crop yields also reduced during the long summer season due to increased evaporation and harshness of temperature. Surface water availability has been uneven during cropping seasons because of a steady rise in temperature during the last four decades, paired with changes in rainfall patterns. Furthermore, Pakistan's mountainous terrain causes excessive melting of glaciers and irregular annual precipitation, resulting in flash floods that displace millions of people and cost billions of dollars in food, standing crops, and substructure. Basic staples such as wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, and vegetables have become out of reach for the poor as Pakistan's population increases at a rate of above 2%, posing major social and economic consequences in terms of further increasing the vulnerability of the poor and disadvantaged.