November 13-19 is the National
Geographic Society’s Geography Awareness Week. This year’s theme is The
Adventure in Your Community. Geography is all around us and varies from region
to region in the Pakistan. Did you know that geography and weather are very
closely linked? Mountains and Rivers can influence an area's climate by
affecting both temperature and precipitation. As elevation increases, the
Atmosphere becomes less dense. When it is less dense, its ability to absorb and
hold thermal energy is reduced and temperature gets lower. Rivers and seas also
help the climate in cooling and absorption of heat waves. Climate change is
likely to have a profound effect on human societies around the World. Over the
past decades much effort has concentrated on the physical science behind climate
change. With the general acceptance of anthropogenic climate change, emphasis
has recently shifted towards climate change impacts, adaptation and mitigation.
Explore some of the connections below.
The geography of Pakistan is a profound blend of landscapes varying from plains
to deserts, forests, hills, and plateaus ranging from the coastal areas of the
Arabian Sea in the south to the mountains of the Karakorum Range in the north.
Pakistan geologically overlaps both with the Indian and the Eurasian tectonic
plates where its Sindh and Punjab provinces lie on the north-western corner of
the Indian plate while Baluchistan and most of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa lie within
the Eurasian plate which mainly comprises the Iranian plateau, some parts of the
Middle East and Central Asia. The Northern Areas and Azad Kashmir lie mainly in
Central Asia along the edge of the Indian plate and hence are prone to violent
earthquakes where the two tectonic plates collide.
Pakistan shares its borders with four neighbouring countries – Afghanistan,
China, India, and Iran – adding up to about 6,975 km (4,334.1 mi) in length
(excluding the coastal areas).
Climate of Pakistan: Pakistan lies in the temperate zone. The climate is
generally arid, characterized by hot summers and cool or cold winters, and wide
variations between extremes of temperature at given locations. For example, the
coastal area along the Arabian Sea is usually warm, whereas the frozen
snow-covered ridges of the Karakoram Range and of other mountains of the far
north are so cold year round that they are only accessible by world-class
climbers for a few weeks in May and June of each year. In the coastal south
you’ll find arid conditions. Pakistan does have a monsoon season with adequate
rainfall, and a dry season with less rainfall. A cool, dry winter runs from
December to February. Spring from March to May is hot and dry. Summer from June
to September is rainy. October and November are the retreating monsoon period.
The climate in the capital city of Islamabad varies from an average daily low of
2° C in January to an average daily high of 40° C in June. Half of the annual
rainfall occurs in July and August, averaging about 255 millimetres in each of
those two months. The remainder of the year has significantly less rain,
amounting to about fifty millimetres per month. Hailstorms are common in the
spring.
New data from millennium-long tree-ring analyses are indicating that mountains
in northern Pakistan have grown significantly wetter over the past century than
they had been over the last millennium — quite possibly due to human-induced
global warming. In Karakoram and Himalaya mountains in northern Pakistan, the
upper reaches of the Indus Valley (which supplies the world's largest irrigation
network), a group of researchers collected samples of Juniper tree rings that
dated back as far as 828.
Environmental issues: The environmental issues are a great problem for the
nature and nation of Pakistan and have been disturbing the balance between
economic development and environmental protection. As Pakistan is a large
importer of both exhaustible and renewable natural resources and a large
consumer of fossil fuels, the Ministry of Environment of Government of Pakistan
takes responsibility to conserve and protect the environment.
Current Climatic issues: water pollution from raw sewage, industrial wastes, and
agricultural runoff; limited natural fresh water resources; a majority of the
population does not have access to potable water; deforestation; soil erosion;
desertification.
Pollution in country: Little attention was paid to pollution and environmental
issues in Pakistan until the early 1990s but still situation is not very
promising and contented. As industry has expanded, factories have emitted more
and more toxic effluents into the air and water. Low-lying land is generally
used for solid waste disposal, without the benefit of sanitary landfill methods.
Another important issue is the contamination of shallow groundwater near urban
industries that discharge wastes directly into the ground. Air pollution has
also become a major problem in most cities. There are no controls on vehicular
emissions, which account for 90 percent of pollutants.
Natural and National Entertainer Flora: There are 14 national parks, 72 wildlife
sanctuaries, 66 game reserves, 9 marine and littoral protected areas, 19
protected wetlands and a number of other protected grasslands, shrub lands,
woodlands and natural monuments.
Geography of Pakistan
Continent Asia
Region Southern Asia
Coordinates 30°00'N 70°00'E
Area Ranked 36th
880,940 km2 (340,130 sq mi)
97.13% land
2.87 % water
Borders Total:
6,975 km (4,334.1 mi)
Afghanistan:
2,643 km (1,642.3 mi)
China:
510 km (316.9 mi)
India:
2,910 km (1,808.2 mi)
Iran:
912 km (566.7 mi)
Highest point Godwin Austen K2
8,616.3 m (28,269 ft)
Lowest point Indian Ocean
0 m (0.0 ft)
Longest river Indus River
Largest lake Manchar Lake