Six districts of Sindh have been hit by moderate drought due to global warming and retreating water resources, causing poverty and migration of affected people to Karachi, Hyderabad and other cities and towns of Sindh. “Badin, Sajwal, Sanghar, Thatta, Umarkot and Tharparkar districts are under moderate drought. During the previous week, no rainfall has been reported in the districts of Sindh,” the Pakistan Meteorological Department said in new report. “Global warming is causing drought conditions in Thatta’s hilly and beach areas, where people face water scarcity and loss of grassy lands. Due to low rains, we don’t have enough grass and trees to feed cattle,” said Ali Mohammad, a resident of Thatta’s hilly areas, while talking to this news agency. He said that several families had migrated to cities and towns of Sindh, including Karachi and Hyderabad, due to poverty caused by the drought. “Our livelihood has declined by 50 percent in last 30 years due to implications of global warming and water scarcity,” said Yar Muhammad, a resident of Thatta’s coastal village. “The Sindh and federal governments have failed to provide any relief to the drought-hit people of Sindh, particularly of Thatta and Tharparkar,” he added. Global warming is a geographic problem, which is affecting several areas of Sindh. Badin, Sajwal, Sanghar, Thatta, Umarkot and Tharparkar districts are most vulnerable to the impacts of warming weather. The government is cognisant of this issue, but is reluctant to take strategic adaptation measures at the policy management and operational levels to minimise the effects of global warming. Expert says low water flow to sea is causing sea intrusion in Thatta, besides posing the same threat to Karachi Efforts to overcome the challenges of warming weather are needed through enacting legislation, setting standards and developing and implementing policies for a secure and lively environment. The existing and proposed measures being taken by the government are not enough to address the issue of global warming. A real approach and practical measures are required to tackle global warming and its implication on the people. “Solar systems should be installed in villages, towns and cities across the country to reduce the impact of warming weather,” environment expert Mohammad Ali said in an interview. He said Pakistan had submitted its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), under Article 2 of the Paris Agreement, to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC). Under the INDC, Pakistan intends to reduce up to 20 percent of its 2030 projected greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, amounting to 1,603 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents, subject to the availability of international grants to meet the total abatement cost for the indicated 20 percent reduction, amounting to about $40 billion at present. He said Pakistan’s adaptation needs ranged between $7 billion and $14 billion per annum during this period. “According to a preliminary projection, the GHG emissions levels for Pakistan are expected to increase many times in the coming decades.” He said that due to global warming, glaciers were melting and causing rise in sea level in Karachi, Thatta and Badin. “Low water flow to sea is causing sea intrusion in Thatta district, besides posing such threat to Karachi in the future. The 1991 water share agreement among provinces has allocated 10 MAF water downstream Kotri, but ironically no water is being released,” Ali added. A field visit and observation by this reporter found that 54 dehs in Thatta district have been intruded by sea since the creation of Pakistan, while a Senate standing committee report states that Karachi would drown by 2030; therefore, to stop sea intrusion at present and in the future, IRSA needs to release at least 10 MAF water into the sea through Indus Delta. It is matter of great concern that no water is being released downstream Kotri at the moment. As a result, sea is continuing to erode land in Thatta, besides making seawater salty, resulting in raise in death ratio of fish, prawn and other living things. Pakistan’s water demand is expected to increase by 30 percent by 2025, particularly due to rise in population to over 250 million at that time. The country has already crossed the water scarcity line way back in 2005 after having crossed the water stress line in 1990. There is a need to conserve water resources by lining the canals, tributaries and water courses. According to a National Water Policy report, the Indus aquifer, underlying the vast Indus plains, and other aquifers in valleys and in the hard rock formation, are recognised as important national resources and deserve protection from pollution and unsustainable abstractions. Monitoring efforts need to be strengthened to determine sustainable groundwater potential, besides preparing groundwater budgets for sub-basin and canal commands, the policy stated. “All measures to prevent lateral/vertical movement of saline water interface shall be introduced. Provincial government shall be persuaded to enforce legislation and take regulatory measures.” The policy also stated that various technologies used for sustainable extraction and skimming of fresh groundwater layers overlying saline water would be evaluated and development of improved techniques initiated. “The transition of SCARP tube-wells in the public sector to the private sector shall be expedited, leaving development of fresh groundwater entirely to the private sector, as a local resource.”