The month of April is coming to an end and rains are continuing intermittently in the country Meteorology Department from 23rd to 29th April Punjab Hailstorms have also been predicted in some places, raising concerns regarding the wheat crop.
In this regard, Shahid Abbas, Chief Meteorologist of the Meteorological Department, says that the wheat crop is damaged by strong winds and hailstorms, however, he said that now farmers harvest wheat and manage it simultaneously.
According to Shahid Abbas: ‘Earlier the wheat was harvested and it was left outside for many days. If we talk regarding wheat crop as a whole, in the changing weather conditions, some farmers may suffer personally, whose crop is on one or two acres, but if we talk regarding the entire country, then the wheat cultivation in the area done, the harvest there will be better than previous years.’
On the other hand, agronomist Mahmood Nawaz Shah says that ‘Pakistan’s biggest and most important crop is wheat, which is currently being harvested in Punjab and this is a very important time.’
In a conversation with Independent Urdu, he said that if the wheat is standing and it rains, there is not so much damage, but there is damage due to hail because when small pieces of snow fall, they break the leaves, shoots and flowers. ‘
According to Mehmood Nawaz Shah, April 29 will be a very critical time for wheat harvest. “Most of the wheat is grown in Punjab and Punjab province is also very big. As wheat is growing in lower Punjab and harvesting is taking place in central Punjab, the damage to the wheat crop will depend on when and where it rains.
If rains occur in Sukkur or Rahim Yar Khan, the damage will be less following 29th. If it happens in central Punjab, then its effect will be very high and that too if the wheat is cut and lying down and the damage due to hailstorm, wherever the wheat is, it will happen.’
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He said that ‘all these effects are due to environmental change, so the government should take this change into account and inform the farmers in time so that the damage can be avoided as much as possible.’
Mehmood Nawaz Shah further said that mangoes are harvested in the same months and are also damaged by hailstorms as snow flakes damage the fruit and leave marks on it.
Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Director General Irfan Ali Kathia has advised the district administration across the province to be alert and prepared in view of the weather situation.
According to Irfan Kathia, due to climate change, Pakistan is facing unusual rains.
Chief Meteorologist Shahid Abbas told Independent Urdu that ‘Rains are predicted from April 26 to 29. Have seen this kind of April before. This time, the weather has changed a little from the norm, but it is not that this weather will prove to be a record breaking one.
He further said that ‘last year also the months of April and May were slightly cold. March, April and May of 2022 were very hot and dry and this has been the case in most of the previous years but this year there is a slight difference which is out of the ordinary.’
In view of the current weather situation, the PDMA has also issued instructions to the public to take precautions during the worsening weather.
PDMA spokesperson Chaudhry Mazhar Hussain told Independent Urdu that ‘in total, 22 people lost their lives due to lightning in the recent rains.’
He said that this is the reason why PDMA is emphasizing to avoid going out in case of bad weather and avoid such accidents as much as possible.
According to Chief Meteorologist Shahid Abbas: ‘In the months of April and May, two or three factors come into play. The climate is changing and as temperatures rise rapidly, the systems that develop with it are more vulnerable. In it the wind blows more, the hail also falls and the lightning flashes more.’
He further said that ‘the intensity of lightning that seems to be increasing this year or in previous years is actually an acceleration in the reporting mechanism of lightning incidents. Now these incidents are reported even from places where our office is not there, while this was not the case earlier.
According to Shahid Abbas: ‘Now everyone has a mobile phone. Wherever lightning strikes, someone reports it.’
According to a study published in the international journal Science magazine, if the temperature of a particular region is higher than the average temperature there and there is rain, the occurrence of lightning may increase.
According to the research, if the temperature of this area is one degree Celsius higher than the average temperature, there can be a 12% increase in lightning strikes.
#effects #unseasonal #rains #crops #Punjab
2024-07-04 22:25:16
