Act Now: Rising Temperatures, Fading Forests
APP
Peshawar: A significant decline in winter rains and snowfall has heightened concerns over the growing risks of desertification and drought in Pakistan, experts warn.
As the country experiences shifting weather patterns and rising temperatures, environmental specialists stress the need for large-scale afforestation to combat these climate change-induced challenges.
Pakistan, ranked among the top 10 most vulnerable nations to climate change, has witnessed a substantial decrease in precipitation in recent years. Experts attribute this decline to deforestation and global warming, which have disrupted the country’s weather cycles.
Afsar Khan, Deputy Director of the Department of Climate Change, Forest, and Environment, highlighted the shift in seasonal rain patterns.
“Historically, winter rains and snow would begin by late December,” he noted. “However, in 2024, the first winter rains arrived only in January. As of now, the winter rains are yet to fully commence, significantly increasing the risk of drought and desertification, especially in southern Pakistan, which heavily relies on glacier-fed water from the Indus River.”
While northern and mountainous areas have received sporadic snowfall and rainfall, the plains of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Punjab face a severe shortfall.
According to the Meteorological Office, Pakistan has experienced a 40 percent reduction in rainfall compared to its 30-year historical average, with particularly dry conditions in the Potohar region.
Last year’s inadequate snowfall in Malakand, Hazara, and northern Punjab led to an early surge in temperatures in February and March, exacerbating environmental stress.
“The lack of winter precipitation now threatens food security, making large-scale plantation initiatives crucial to addressing these growing challenges,” emphasized Afsar Khan.
Gulzar Rehman, a former Conservator of Forests, echoed these concerns, warning that the absence of winter snow accelerates desertification, land degradation, and drought (DDLD).
If left unaddressed, these issues could result in annual economic losses of $42 billion, with approximately six million hectares of productive land lost to DDLD worldwide each year.
“DDLD poses a major threat to agricultural land in arid and semi-arid regions, and Pakistan is no exception,” Rehman added. He pointed out that nearly two-thirds of the country’s agricultural land and 80 percent of its arid and semi-arid regions are highly vulnerable due to declining rainfall, reduced snowfall, and rampant deforestation.
Pakistan’s National Forest Policy indicates that the country loses approximately 27,000 hectares of forest each year, particularly in community-managed forests in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan.
To address these pressing environmental concerns, the government has undertaken key initiatives, including the Sustainable Land Management Project (SLMP), launched in 2014 during the Nawaz Sharif administration.
Initially focused on rehabilitating over 12,000 hectares of degraded rangeland in nine dryland districts, the project expanded in its first phase to promote sustainable agriculture and water conservation across an additional 8,000 hectares.
Following SLMP Phase-I’s success, the government launched Phase-II, expanding interventions to 14 districts prone to desertification. These districts, spanning Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Balochistan, include high-risk areas like Chakwal, Bhakkar, Tharparkar, and Umerkot.
In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, initiatives such as the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation) strategy and the Green Growth Initiative (GGI) are bolstering afforestation efforts and sustainable development.
Under the Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP), 10 new forest reserves have been established in KP, increasing the province’s forest coverage from 20 percent in 2017 to 26.7 percent today.
Ibrahim Khan, Deputy Director of the Forest Department, stated that since 2017, the provincial government has invested approximately Rs. 675 billion in forest conservation and expansion efforts.
These investments aim to strengthen ecosystems, enhance water retention, and curb land degradation. Experts emphasize the need for accelerated afforestation and sustainable land management projects to protect Pakistan’s environment.
With the persistent decline in rainfall and snowfall, swift and large-scale environmental interventions are essential to avert further ecological and economic damage as Pakistan faces the mounting threats of climate change-driven DDLD.
