Why we need irrigation

• Most areas in the country experience aridity or semi-aridity, which increases from north to south
• There is high variability in the distribution of rainfall in Pakistan:

  • Humid areas: 30 to 70%
  • Arid areas: 30 to 40%
  • Semi-arid areas: 40 to 70%
• Pakistan experiences long dry spells from April to June and October to November
• There is high variability in the timings of rainfall in Pakistan
• Pakistan has a small number of rainy days:

  • South: 20 days
  • Northern areas: 20 to 50 days
  • Murree: 93 days per annum
• There is a high rate of evapo-transpiration, especially in arid and semi-arid areas of Pakistan
• In 1948, India stopped the water of canals that irrigated the areas of newly founded Pakistan
• Recently, India has constructed dams on River Indus and River Chenab