The most powerful accelerant of Pakistan’s water crisis is global warming and rapid melting pattern coupled with high-intensity precipitation is expected to aggravate river flooding, Federal Minister for Environment Hameedullah Jan Afridi said here on Tuesday.
Talking to Ajay Chibber, assistant secretary general of the UN and director of UNDP’s Asia-Pacific Bureau, he reiterated Pakistan’s resolve in taking concrete measures to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
“Many of Pakistan’s glaciers are already receding by up to one metre per year. Once the glaciers start melting, river flows would be expected to decrease dramatically. Glacier Lakes Outburst Floods (GLOF) is among the imminent examples of the environmental hazards being faced by Pakistan,” he said.
He said the Indus River Basin, a sole water source for Pakistan, obtains its water stocks from the snows and rains of the western Himalayas, Karakoram and Hindukush mountain ranges.
Source: Water crisis due to global warming – theNews
Date: 13 May 2010
Glaciers & Ice Sheets
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