A circular from Irrigation Department of Sindh province warns of an imminent drought and water shortage in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province.
Irrigation Department Issues Drought Alert for Sindh as lowering water levels aligned with less rain in the winters is threatening the water table of Sindh province. While Water Crisis is a looming threat in Pakistan due to lethal mix of climate change and a rapidly growing population. The Sindh Irrigation Department has issued an advisory calling for immediate and sustainable actions on part of all stakeholders. The letter states that the water reservoirs are at dangerously low levels. It adds that the less rain in the Rabi season is one of the main reasons of this drought threat.
Water Level in Tarbela and Mangla
Irrigation Department Issues Drought Alert for Sindh as the water level has dropped to 0.102 Million Acre-Feet (MAF) in Tarbela. Tarbela has a capacity of 11 Million Acre-Feet (MAF). Similarly, the water level in Mangla stands at 0.226 MAF at this point against the total capacity of 7.39 Million Acre-Feet.
Interestingly, Tarbela reservoir has a gross storage capacity of 11.6 million acre feet at the maximum lake elevation of 1550 feet (472 meters), a residual capacity of 1.9 MAF at the assumed level of maximum drawdown elevation 1300 feet (396 meters) and a net useable capacity of 9.7 MAF. Moreover, Tarbela Dam had crossed 11 million acre feet (MAF) in August 2024.
The warning adds that the current water levels could come to the dead point in four to five days. A recent advisory from Pakistan Meteorological Department also warned of a drought. The PMD pointed 52% lesser rainfall in Sindh in the current season. Thus, PMD also raised concerns of a drought due to a dry spell until the end of March 2025.
PMD statement said that there was 40% lesser rainfall in entire Pakistan since September 2024. It cited the reason for emerging drought in the plains across the country. Most importantly, the recent rain spell was also short-lived and could not increase the water reserves in the plain areas across Pakistan.
