LAHORE:
After weeks of dry, dusty weather, a spell of rain and snowfall forecast by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has swept across several parts of the country, bringing much-needed relief by lowering pollution, refreshing the air and replenishing water supplies for standing crops at a critical stage.
The wet spell, driven by western disturbances typical of the winter season, not only broke a prolonged dry period but also revived agricultural prospects, particularly for rain-fed regions that had been struggling with moisture shortages.
Winter rains (November-February), often driven by western disturbances, increase river flows across Pakistan, particularly impacting the upper catchments of the Indus, Kabul and Swat rivers.
These, along with early-year rains, can cause early-season high flows in rivers, sometimes impacting crops like wheat.
Though the rain caused disruptions in some low-lying areas, it was widely welcomed by farmers, particularly in barani (rain-fed) regions, where the showers arrived just in time to revive the gram crop.
With the country facing water shortages and the wheat crop entering a critical growth phase, the spell could hardly have come at a more opportune moment.
While agriculture planners see clear positive signs for wheat, they remain cautious about quantifying the full impact at this stage. They are, however, confident that the gram crop, now at the sensitive flowering stage and in urgent need of moisture, will largely escape the effects of drought.
Rain-fed areas stand to gain the most, as the improved soil moisture is also expected to help farmers prepare for sowing groundnuts by mid-March.
Meanwhile, water inflows and outflows across major rivers and reservoirs remained stable on Friday, with the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) and the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) reporting balanced discharge levels at key hydropower and irrigation points.
According to a WAPDA spokesperson, at Tarbela, the River Indus recorded an inflow of 17,000 cusecs and an equal outflow of 17,000 cusecs. At Mangla, the River Jhelum had an inflow of 11,100 cusecs, while the outflow stood at 6,100 cusecs.
At Chashma Barrage, the inflow was recorded at 18,900 cusecs, while the outflow was significantly higher at 30,000 cusecs.
Meanwhile, at Head Marala, the River Chenab showed an inflow of 8,100 cusecs and an outflow of 4,100 cusecs. At Nowshera, the River Kabul recorded both inflow and outflow at 12,700 cusecs.
The spokesperson said the Tarbela Reservoir was at a water level of 1,492.00 feet, with a live storage of 2.747 million acre-feet (MAF). At Mangla, the water level stood at 1,203.20 feet, with a storage of 4.459 MAF. At Chashma, the reservoir level was 648.00 feet, with a storage of 0.258 MAF.
The combined usable water storage in Tarbela, Mangla and Chashma was reported at 7.464 million acre-feet.
WAPDA said that inflow and outflow figures for Tarbela and Chashma on the Indus, Nowshera on the Kabul and Mangla on the Jhelum represent 24-hour average flows, while the data for Head Marala and other locations reflect measurements taken at 6am on Friday.
