Pakistan, home to over 250 million people, is edging close to a deeper water crisis.

Climate change is tightening its grip, with rising temperatures, shrinking glaciers, and increasingly erratic rainfall. As a result, the water supply has become less reliable than ever. Hotter days mean higher evaporation, driving up demand for both drinking water and crop irrigation — which consumes over 90 per cent of the country’s available water.

At the same time, the expansion of cultivated land, rising cropping intensity, and a rapidly growing population are placing an even greater strain on already-stretched water resources. By an unfortunate twist, recent drought-like conditions and the ongoing heated debate around the six proposed canals have thrown the issue into sharp focus.

Over the past few decades, climate change, the environment, and the water sector have taken a back seat to large infrastructure projects like highways, underpasses, flyovers, and city bypasses; this neglect has come at a cost. As a result, many parts of Pakistan today face extreme water stress for crop irrigation — and for some, even access to drinking water will be a challenge in the years to come.

Beneath the surface, things are no better. Groundwater is depleting at an alarming rate due to our rising dependence on it, as river flows continue to dwindle. Indiscriminate........

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