Pakistan Could Face Mass Droughts by 2025 as Water Level Nears ‘Absolute Scarcity

It is the political bickering over the issue being carried out. The authorities need to act now Pakistan could face drought in the near future according to experts in the country, who have warned the country will approach the “absolute scarcity” level of water by 2025. The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) made the grim forecast in a new report which claimed the country touched the “water stress line” in 1990 before crossing the “water scarcity line” in 2005. Pakistan has the world’s fourth highest rate of water use but is dependent on water from a single source – the Indus River basin in India – and rainfall has been steadily declining, with some experts claiming this is down to climate change. Shamsul Mulk, former chairman of the Water and Power Development Authority in the country, said water policy is simply non-existent in Pakistan. Policymakers act like “absentee landlords” over water, he added. Because of this absentee landlordism, water has become the property of the landlords and the poor are deprived of their share. Experts say that population growth and urbanization are the main reasons behind the crisis. Some say the issue has been exacerbated by climate change and poor water management.