AN ASSESSMENT TO VULNERABILITY, EXTENT, CHARACTERISTICS AND SEVERITY OF DROUGHT HAZARD IN PAKISTAN

Abstract

Drought is a normal, recurrent climatic feature which has caused distress since the known history of mankind. Pakistan has been suffering serious droughts periodically due to belownormal precipitation, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. Although drought affects nearly all the climatic regimes and has pronounced consequences in both developed and developing countries but its effects are noticeably devastating in developing nations like Pakistan where rain-fed farming
predominates. Assessing the onset of drought, extent, intensity and duration can limit drought-induced impacts and can provide a base to develop an effective drought mitigation response. Previous drought events in Pakistan and the magnitude of drought losses indicate the continuing vulnerability of Pakistan to drought due to lack of contingency planning. The integration of existing drought monitoring tools for Pakistan is essential to reduce the vulnerability of drought in this region. In order to reduce vulnerability to drought event in Pakistan, it is inevitable to assess relevant effects and identify their potential reasons. Due to spatial and temporal variability, it is imperative to enhance the data availability for mapping and monitoring this phenomenon on all scales. Drought related multidisciplinary information can be handled by using GIS. Government institutions look after potential drought-stricken victims and others living in potential drought areas by using spatial analysis in GIS that can lead to a decision support system