The crisis is near

The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has warned that the country might run dry by 2025, if the authorities didn’t take immediate action. According to some media reports, the country touched the ‘water stress line’ in 1990 and crossed the ‘water scarcity line’ in 2005. If this situation persists, the country is likely to face the acute water shortage or a drought-like situation in the near future, according to the PCRWR. An Islamabad-based expert, Irfan Chowdhry, also affirmed the report’s discoveries and says that Pakistan is very near to an immense disaster.

According to the IMF, Pakistan is already the third most water-stressed country in the world. Its per capita annual water availability is 1,017 cubic meters – perilously close to the scarcity threshold of 1,000 cubic meters. Back in 2009, the country’s water availability was about 1,500 cubic meters. Experts say that population growth and urbanisation are the main reasons behind the crisis. The issue has also been exacerbated by climate change, poor water management, and a lack of political will to deal with the crisis.

Aleem ur Rehman

Islamabad