Mango Production in Pakistan: Severely Affected Due to Water Shortage and Heatwave
According to the head of a farmers' and exporters' association, mango production in Pakistan is most likely to drop by 50% this year due to unusually high temperatures and water shortages.
This month, Pakistan saw a severe heatwave, with temperatures in the south exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). According to the government's Climate Change Ministry, the country went from winter to summer without experiencing a spring.
Scientists have warned that the region's heat is putting more than a billion people at risk, tying the early arrival of a hot summer to climate change.
Waheed Ahmed, head of the Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchants Association, said:
"The heatwave has affected it (the crop) greatly because the temperature in March was 28, 29 degrees Celsius - but all of a sudden it hit 42."
He claimed that the heat during mango tree flowering had a significant impact on productivity and that, as a result, Pakistan's mango production had dropped by 50% this year.
Though the heat ripens the sweet yellow fruit, the harvest has been harmed by the unseasonably high temperatures and water shortages.
After India, China, Thailand, and Indonesia, Pakistan is the world's fifth-largest mango producer.
Source: Alarabia news
