On Wednesday, India released an excess amount of water from its reservoirs into the Sutlej River.
In July, India also discharged a volume of 2,08,597 cusecs from Harike and 1,10,568 cusecs from Ferozepur into the Sutlej River. As a result of this water discharge from India into the Sutlej, the water level in Pakistan is rising, according to officials.
The Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Punjab issued a flood alert for the rivers on Tuesday. Instructions were given by the PDMA to deputy commissioners in Bahawalnagar, Kasur, Okara, Pakpattan, and Vehari to make preparations for handling potential emergency situations.
All dams on the Sutlej and Beas Rivers in India have been filled to their capacity, and there is an expectation of more rainfall in the upper catchment areas of these rivers, as conveyed by a PDMA spokesperson. This could lead to India releasing excess water from its reservoirs.
According to the flood alert, heavy rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms is anticipated in the catchment areas of major rivers within the next 24 hours. The PDMA indicated that the monsoon rain period is likely to continue until August 23.
They also cautioned that there could be flooding in the Sutlej River at Ganda Singh Wala and in low-lying regions. The Meteorological Office has predicted additional monsoon rains in the upper regions of the country.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), moderate to heavy rainfall could increase water flows in local nullahs and streams in areas such as Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan, Chitral, Dir, Swat, Kohistan, Shangla, Buner, Mansehra, Abbottabad, Rawalpindi, and Islamabad.
