Water levels drop to lowest in a decade: PMD

IRSA rejects met dept’s claim; insists current water levels are normal

ISLAMABAD: Water levels in the country’s two major dams – Mangla Dam and Tarbela Dam – have hit their lowest mark in a decade, the head of the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General Dr Ghulam Rasul said on Thursday.

According to data available on the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s website, the water level in Tarbela Dam at this time in 2008 was recorded at 40-feet but it has now reached 38-feet.

 The water level in Mangla Dam at this time in 2008 was 61-feet while the existing water level in the same dam is a few points below this mark.

“The current water level in both the dams has broken the record of the last 10 years,” said Dr Ghulam Rasul told The Express Tribune.

He said the PMD had carried out a comparison of the last decade which showed that the present water levels are alarmingly low.

“This is alarming due to the ongoing drought like situation in the country. It seems the water level will drop further in both the dams in coming days,” he added. Rasul underscored the need for running an aggressive nationwide campaign for water conservation.

Claim disputed

Contrary to the PMD’s prediction about water shortage, the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) spokesperson Rana Khalid claimed that the current water level in both the dams was normal.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Khalid said: “It is wrong to say that the water level has reached the dead level and the situation is alarming.”



“As for today, the water level in Mangla Dam is 1,103 feet while its dead level is 1,040 feet and in Tarbela Dam water level is 1,418 feet while its dead level is 1,380 feet,” he said.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 30^th, 2016.