Warmer weather improves Tarbela refilling prospects

Prospects of glacial melt are bright

ISLAMABAD: The mercury level in Skardu touched 32.2°C on Saturday, recording a significant increase against the temperature on Friday which was just 25°C, brightening prospects of accelerated glacial melt and helping refilling the Tarbela Dam reservoir to its maximum level.

River inflows, however, decreased from 448,400 cusecs to 435,700 cusecs – a decrease of 12,700 cusecs. Outflows also fell from 366,100 cusecs to 354,900 cusecs, amounting to a decline of 11,200 cusecs.

Water stored in dams increased from 7.236 million acre-foot (MAF) to 7.388 MAF or an increase of 0.152 MAF.

The Irsa spokesperson said that because of operational constraint, Wapda adjusted the Tarbela reservoir filling to two feet per day.

Irsa, it is learnt, is releasing 204,000 cusecs from the dam against its indent of 140,000 cusecs.



Also, the fresh flows in Chenab are now passing through the Trimmu Head Works resulting in downstream outflow of 43,000 cusecs.

Between 70,000 and 80,000 cusecs is now available in the system which is expected to pass below Kotri after eight or nine days.

Irsa expressed the hope that Tarbela would touch its maximum conservation level of 1,550 feet in the next eight or nine days.

However, the situation at Mangla will remain critical. Surpluses of Indus and Chenab are facilitating Mangla outflows to 10,000 cusecs and about 1.1 feet per day filling is being done at the dam.



As of August 11, Irsa is releasing 127,500 cusecs of irrigation water to Punjab (an increase of six per cent), 158,000 cusecs to Sindh (an increase of 13 per cent), 14,000 cusecs to Balochistan and 3,100 cusecs to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

It is expected that the current trend will continue over the next four or five days with slight variations.

Another fresh surge is expected in Chenab on August 12 or 13.