National Disaster Response Plan (NDRP) March 2010 - NDMA

c. Drought
10
(1) Commonly associated with periods of reduced precipitation of sufficient
duration to cause insufficient water resources. The loss of these water
resources disrupts the natural ecosystem and human activities. There no
precise definition of the word “drought” that can be applied to all regions 6 .
(2) Droughts are becoming increasingly common in Pakistan as a natural outcome
of the regular absence of rain. Climate conditions in Pakistan vary significantly
and some parts of the country, particularly the southern half is arid and hyper-
arid. Some parts of the country are extremely dry and vulnerable to drought. If
the rains fail in subsequent seasons, the drought merges and turns severe in
the continuous absence of rainfall. About 60 percent of the total land area is
classified as arid, and receives less than 200 mm of rainfall. A distinguishing
feature of drought is that it develops slowly and gradually over the period and
continues for longer duration. The impact of a drought on crops, cattle, and
human lives is severe and is spread over larger geographical areas in
comparison to other natural disasters.
(3) The following districts are vulnerable to drought in Pakistan (fig-4):-
District Province
(1) Chagai, Kharan, Khuzdar, Lasbella, Mastung, Quetta
and Washuk
Balochistan
(2) Badin, Dadu,Tharparkar, Thatta, Umerkot and Sanghar Sindh
(3) Bahawalpur, Dera Ghazi Khan, Mianwali, Bhakkar and
Rajanpur
(4) FATA
6. Geographical Exposure
Droughts
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
Fig-4
6 Meteorological Drought in Pakistan, http://www.pakmet.com.pk
Punjab
Disaster Risks in Pakistan