There is no hiding from climate change, especially not in a country like Pakistan. This is not exactly news. The effects have been apparent to anyone with eyes to see. But the past couple of years have shown the extent of the devastation climate change has brought to this country.Â
Since 2022, the ravages of climate change have been swift and fast in Pakistan. Take the example of Sanghar.Â
In May 2022, reports began to emerge that the cotton crop in Sindh was wilting. In Sanghar, one of the largest cotton producing districts in Sindh with cotton grown on 300,000 acres of agricultural land, less than 200,000 acres were being used to cultivate cotton. And on the 200,000 acres that were being used to grow cotton, crop performance was abysmal.Â
Over the past 10 years, according to figures available with the Pakistan Cotton and Ginners Association, Pakistan’s cotton yields have fallen by 26% from 880 kg per hectare to 652 kg per hectare over the last decade. While the cotton crop in Sanghar suffered, other agricultural areas dependent on the down-river water from the Indus were affected as well. In Thatha, fishing villages were left without any source of livelihood as the nearly three kilometre stretch of river that crossed the region dried up completely and was replaced by huge deposits of sand. At the Kotri Barrage of the Indus in Sindh, water levels had fallen from 15,000 cusecs of water to barely over 2000 cusecs.Â
The numbers coming in from the Indus River that year were alarming. They revealed a major dip in the Indus of 10,000 cusecs (an outflow of 105,000 cusecs on May 19 and 95,000 on May 20) occurred at Tarbela dam, raising fears that the dam may have hit dead levels. Its inflows plunged to 77,900 cusecs from 98,000 cusecs within a week. All of this was in May, the beginning of the summer season when the river needs to be flowing to maintain the vast swathes of agricultural lands all along Punjab and Sindh. The economies of both provinces rely heavily on this river.Â
And then came the floods. The content in this publication is expensive to produce. But unlike other journalistic outfits, business publications have to cover the very organizations that directly give them advertisements. Hence, this large source of revenue, which is the lifeblood of other media houses, is severely compromised on account of Profit’s no-compromise policy when it comes to our reporting. No wonder, Profit has lost multiple ad deals, worth tens of millions of rupees, due to stories that held big businesses to account. Hence, for our work to continue unfettered, it must be supported by discerning readers who know the value of quality business journalism, not just for the economy but for the society as a whole.To read the full article, subscribe and support independent business journalism in Pakistan
