Pakistan is a predominantly arid region with a total land area of 796 096 km2 and geographic coordinates of (23°–38°) N latitude and (61°–78°) E longitude. Pakistan has four provinces which include Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab, and Sindh and one federal territory i.e., Islamabad Capital Territory. In addition, there are two more autonomous territories i.e., the state of Azad Jammu & Kashmir and the Federally administered area of Gilgit Baltistan. Pakistan has four seasons, which are classified as follows: cold season from December to March, hot season from April to June, monsoon or summer wet season from July to September, and autumn or post monsoon season from October to November. As predicted by Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the country overall received below normal (41.5%) rainfall during October to March. The main thrust was in Balochistan (74.5%) and Sindh (77.3%) while it remained above normal during November throughout the country (FAO, 2021). Precipitation in the country is divided into two seasons: summer or monsoon precipitation and winter precipitation (Kureshy, 1998). During the months of July and September, monsoon rains enter Pakistan from the east and north east. During this time, the north and northeastern parts of the country receive a significant amount of rain (Khan, 1993). Winter precipitation (December to March) is primarily caused by western disturbances that enter from Iran and Afghanistan (Luo and Lin, 1999). According to FAO, 22.1 million hectares of the total area of 79.6 million hectares are farmed; the remainder is made up of cultivable waste, densely inhabited forests, and rangelands. Crop land is for 23.3 million hectares, whereas forests account for 4.6 million hectares of total land (GoP, 2010a.). Pakistan is also among the top ten producers of wheat, cotton, sugarcane, mango, and dates, and ranks tenth in rice output (GoP, 2010a.).
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