Climate Change
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Date
2022
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Publisher
UMT.lahore
Abstract
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.