ISLAMABAD: Glaciers are melting at a rapid speed due to the rising temperatures across the country and the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) has increased the provincial shares of water and river inflows rose to 240,000 cusecs from 108,000 cusecs.
IRSA while reviewing the water situation on Monday in the backdrop of a substantial increase in river inflows as a result of the increase in catchment temperatures has revised the provincial shares and decided to fulfil all indents of the provinces. In last four days, storage has increased from 0.207 MAF to 0.373 MAF, said IRSA.
According to IRSA, the temperature in Skardu has touched 32 degree Celsius which is a record temperature in the first week of June. River inflows on 26.05.18 were 108,000 cs and today recorded at 240,000 cs. Last year inflows were 300400 cs, said IRSA.
IRSA also informed that Punjab’s share had increased from 69,400 cs to 93,200 cs (full indent), Sindh’s share had increased from 60,000 cs to 85,000 cs (full indent), Balochistan’s from 8000 cs to 14000 cs (full indent) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 3100 cs for Chashma Righ Bank Canal (CRBC).
At present, total inflows in the dams are 240.0 million acre-feet (MAF) while total outflows are 210.5 MAF and total storage has risen to 0.373 MAF.
A spokesman of IRSA said that they had sufficient space in dams to cater for flooding and were storing water in reservoirs after meeting all indents of provinces.
It is worth mentioning here that the construction of dams and barrages by India over River Chenab and River Jhelum, in violation of the Indus Waters Treaty, created the problem of water shortage for Pakistan, which was turning severe with the passage of time.
Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) had already issued a warning that the country may run dry by 2025 if the authorities did not take immediate action to pacify the situation. According to PCRWR, Pakistan touched the “water stress line” in 1990 and crossed the “water scarcity line” in 2005.