Pakistan ClimateA Report

By Allah Dad Khan

Agri Expert

Overview

1. Climate change is severely impacting many countries around the world and Pakistan is no exception. With its largely arid geographical profile and resource scarcity the country is particularly vulnerable.

2. From 1929-2005, the return period of disasters has become shorter, reducing from 56 years in 1929 to only 5 years in 2005. The country is susceptible to a wide range of hazards including landslides, floods, droughts and cyclones.

3. The Global Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI) compiled by Maplecroft ranked Pakistan as the 29th most vulnerable country over 2009-2010, and the 16th most vulnerable over 2010-11

Geography

Pakistan has borders to the north with Afghanistan, to the east with India and to the west with Iran; the Arabian Sea lies to the south. In the northeast is the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, bounded by Afghanistan, China and India. The land covers a huge 796,096 sq km (305,058 sq miles) making it over three times the size of the UK.

Six Distinct Regions

• Pakistan comprises six distinct regions. 1. There is the northern mountain area which has a high concentration of

jaw-dropping peaks, and some of the largest glaciers outside of the polar regions - in fact five are over 45 km (28 miles) in length - as well as the

2. Himalayan range which includes the fabled Nanga Parbat, which stands a whopping 8,125m (26,657ft) tall.

3. The other regions are comprised by the northern plateau, which is effectively the lowlands at the bottom of the mountain ranges,

4. The western mountains, the Balochistan plateau (which is hilly and very sparsely populated),

5. The southeast desert which stretches into Rajasthan in India and6. The plain of the river Indus, which is within Sindh and the Punjab (‘Punjab’

literally means five waters, named after the Indus and it’s four tributaries).

Climate Of Pakistan

Pakistan's climate is dry and hot near the coast, becoming progressively cooler toward the northeastern uplands. The winter season is generally cold and dry. The hot season begins in March, and by the end of June the temperature may reach 49° C (120° F ). Between June and September, the monsoon provides an average rainfall of about 38 cm (15 in) in the river basins and up to about 150 cm (60 in) in the northern areas. Rainfall can vary radically from year to year, and successive patterns of flooding and drought are not uncommon.

4 Seasons ( Rainfall)

Pakistan Climate is divided into four seasons

1. The hot dry spring, from March to May, 2. The summer rainy season from June to September, 3. The retreating monsoon in October and November 4. The cold dry winter from December to February.

Temperature in Islamabad, which is the capital city of Pakistan, varies from 2°C in the winter in January to 40°C in June. So the climate of Pakistan can be called to be extreme. The average rainfall during monsoon is about 255 millimeters.

Pakistan Climate