IMPACT OF CLIMATE

ON
Water Related Disasters
GROUP A1
ANMOL
AMBER RAFIQ
AYESHA FAIZ
KASHMALA KAWAL
MARYAM SHAFIQ
 INTRODUCTION
• The fluctuations in climate influence almost all the processes in the biosphere to some
extent.
• Climate change also has a drastic effect on thermal and hydrologic regimes of snow and
glacier-fed rivers. (Forsythe et al. 2017)
• About 10% of the earth’s surface is covered by glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets.
• Ice that took centuries to develop can vanish in just a few years.
 GLACIERS IN PAKISTAN
With 7,253 known glaciers including 543 Origin of river flows :
glaciers in the Chitral Valley, there is more • Major river flows in Pakistan originate from
glacial ice in Pakistan than anywhere on Hindukush-Karakoram- Himalaya (HKH)
Earth. Cover an area of around 13,000 KM2. region. Those glaciers feed rivers that account
for about 75 percent of the stored water supply
• Location of glaciers: in the country.

Entire glacier cover areas in Pakistan lie More than 70% of the upper Indus River flows
in upstream of Tarbela, Chitral, Swat and are dependent on snow and ice melt water
supplies.
Jhelum Basin. (Amin et al. 2018)

(Amin et al. 2018)

 MELTING OF GLACIERS
• Pakistan’s Glaciers are melting with the rise in temperature. Especially Lower
elevations glaciers are melting fast in Hindu Kush mountain range in northern
Khyber Pakhtunkhawa province.
• When 30-year temperature averages from 1961 to 1990 are compared with
those from 1981 to 2010 almost 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature arises

• Siachen Glacier has • Out of 2,420

. • Rise in temperature is
almost twice the amount in
. other parts of Pakistan
(0.76ºC) in the last 30
years.
The number of glacial lakes reduced by 5.9 km in Glacier lakes, 52
has jumped from 2,420 a longitudinal extent from become more
decade ago to 3,044 today 1989 to 2009. • Himalayan dangerous due to
according to a recent glaciers shrunk 0.36 huge amount of
water arriving
study. percent in area per year from glaciers
from 1960 to 2010. melting.
BIGGEST GLACIERS OF PAKISTAN

• Siachen Glacier
• Baltoro Glacier
• Rakaposhi Glacier
• Passu Glacier
• Concordia
• Abruzzi Glacier
 IMPACT OF MELTING OF GLACIERS
• Pakistan’s economy that depends mainly on water from glacier melt.
• Glacier depletion, especially recent melting can affect agriculture, drinking
water supplies, hydro-electric power, and ecological habitats.
• Nearly 52 lakes might start flowing at any time leading to flash floods and
extreme threat to people inhabiting mountains. Over the past six years, the
Chitral Valley has also experienced three major floods due to melting of
Glaciers rise in the Sea Level.
 GLACIER MASS CHANGE

• Glaciers gain mass through snowfall and lose mass through melting and
sublimation.
• Over time the glaciers of the Hindu Kush Himalayas will decrease in size. No
longer will contribute to the region’s water supply each year in future.
• Shifts in the location and intensity of snow and rain could also affect the rate
of glacial retreat.
 RISE IN SEA LEVEL

• Due to rapid recession of glaciers, larger volume of water has been reaching
the oceans raising their normal level.
• This urged the global community to keep an eye on sea level rise.
• At Karachi the rate of 1.1 mm/year in sea level rise has been observed.
 CONCLUSION
• High mountain climate is even warmer than the country average temperature by additional
0.4C, Glaciers mass is rapidly decreasing.
• Snowline has been shifting rapidly uphill causing the biodiversity to migrate.
• High temperature in Northern areas of Pakistan results in precipitation which now in the
form of rainfall instead of snowfall.
• Low elevation glaciers are disappearing. High melting rate results in flooding which
damage the nearby areas.
• Batura Glacier and Biafo Glaciers which are one of the largest glaciers in the Asian
melting rapidly. No brief study conducted on the melting of glaciers of Pakistan by
Pakistani scientists.
 RECOMMENDATIONS
• Less excess use of fossil fuels because the level of thermal energy in the atmosphere is
affected by excessive use of fossil fuel.
• Understand how personal contribution can change the climatic conditions. Support the
development of newly advanced renewable energy infrastructures.
• Reduce the Black carbon emissions.
• There is need to conduct comprehensive study on our glaciers. Develop a model to
determine water melt off from glaciers.
• Water conservation plan should be enforced at national level.
• Know your Ecological Footprints which are putting stress on our ecosystem.