LAHORE: Water entering large dams improves due to melting snow in the mountains following rising temperatures.
New Indus River System Authority data shows a 37 percent increase last week, as the system received 158,347 cusecs of water on May 7 in all its rivers as opposed to 98,852 cusecs last week.
The Tarbela Dam, the largest dam in the country that hit a death toll of 1,392 feet on February 22, showed an improvement of 16 meters as the water level was 1,408 feet on May 7. On Saturday, entry to Tarbela was 62,400 cusecs and exits. 51,000 cusecs.
The situation at Mangla Dam improved further as the water level was 1,081 feet on May 7 versus 1,074 feet last week. The dam also hit a death knell of 1,050 feet three weeks ago. The data puts the average water inflow to 30,890 cusecs and outflow of 33,315 cusecs per week.
Chenab water intake in Marala was further improved from 13,174 cusecs on April 30 to 21,057 on May 7.
Delays in the melting process, although beginning in the early summer of March, have put pressure on the national water supply, which has been sinking significantly below the last five years. The Kharif era began with a 40pc deficit – 30pc on the Indus and 10pc on the Jhelum arm – which increased to 52pc in April-end.
The situation was even worse in Mangla mainly because the dam received rainwater and there was no rain in March and April. The Met office had predicted that it would rain five times in March, but only one happened.
There was also a dramatic decline in snowfall in the mountainous region of the country at this time of year, compared to an average of 50 inches of rain, only 37 inches of snowfall recorded this year. Snow has also fallen to the surface, where temperatures must rise above 100 degrees Fahrenheit[23 ° C]to melt.
Suffering from water shortages, farmers in Sindh and Balochistan have begun protesting on the roads and staging-ins outside irrigation offices.
Published Parhlo, May 9, 2022