Geography

Climate

Climate zones

 Weather: the condition of atmosphere of a particular place for a short period of time. For
example sunny rainy stormy
 Climate: the average weather condition of a place for a long period of time

Highland climate

 Area= northern north western and western highland

 Summers= in north and north western summers are mild and in western mild to warm.
 Winters= in the northern and north western winters are cold and in western cool to cold
 Precipitation= northern north western it is in form of snow and in western it is rainfall

Low land climate

 Area: indus plain

 Summer= hot summers (lower indus plain is hotter)
 Winters= cool winters
 Precipitation= monsoon rainfall. The amount of rainfall differs from north to south
 Storms= common in north and north west of indus plain

Coastal climate

 Area= southern coastal strip balochistan and Sindh coast (indus delta, Karachi, makhran coast)
 Summer= warm
 Winter= mild
 Precipitation= balochistan (In winter western depression) Sindh ( secondary monsoon rains)
 The maritime influence keeps the daily temperature relatively low
 Maritime influence is the effect ocean has on the climate

Arid climate

 Area= south western balochistan and south eastern desert

 Summers= hot and dry
 Winters= mild
 Precipitation= scanty rain little rain from summer monsoon
 Storms= dust storms

Climate elements

Temperature

 The degree of hotness or coldness of a particular area

 Temperature varies in different regions due to:
 Large spread of latitude from 24N---37N
  Since the altitude of mountains can go up to 8610 it can be cooler there since temperature
decreases as you go up. So low lying areas tend to be less cool in comparison on high altitude
areas
 Jacobabad is also known as the thermal due to its high temperature which can reach upto 53
degree and monthly temperature of may june us 43 degree.
 This is due to its location which is near desert and the fact that it is low lying land which are
generally hotter.
 Factors affecting temperature of pakistan
 Latitudinal effect: areas closer to the equator are hotter as the angle of incidence is higher over
there
 if the angle of incidence is higher than the temperature will increase.
 If the angle of incidence is lower than the temperature will be lower
 Southern pakistan is closer to the equator than the northern pakistan and is hotter.
 For example gwadar experiences more heat since it is closer to equator its temperature can go
up to 38 degree
 Humidity is there
 Continental effect: when a land is surrounded by large land masses it is said to have extreme
winter and summer and doesn’t have the maritime influence. When a land is close or
surrounded by sea it is said to have a cooler climate due to the maritime influence with keeps
the land cooler with sea breeze.
 Altitude and temperature: the air is densest (thick and heavy) at the sea level as it is absorbing
a lot of dust particles water vapor and solar radiation.
 As we go up in the sky the air reduces thus less of these things are absorbed resulting in lower
temperature
 Clouds cover and temperature: in the day time the cloud cover reduces the amount of heat
coming by reflecting it back into the space resulting in drop of temperature. And in the night the
cloud cover blocks the outgoing heat trapping it in our atmosphere increasing the temperature.
Known as terrestrial radiation.
 Latitude and angle of sun: the difference in the heat received in summer and winter is due to
the differences in the angle of sun.
 In summer: the northern hemisphere (pakistan) is tilted towards the sun there land absorbs
more heat and faces sun for more time (long days and short night)
 In winter: the northern hemisphere is tilted away from the sun thus the land absorbs less heat
and faces the sun for lesser time (short days long nights

Rainfall

The monsoon winds (July to September)

 Also known as south west monsoon and winter monsoon winds are called north east monsoons.
 In summers sun heats ip the tropical continent more faster than the ocean
 Warm air rises creating low pressure areas. It attracts cool moist air from sea bringing man
monsoon winds which blow from the bay of Bengal
 After crossing Bangladesh and north india the tail end enters northern pakistan
 These winds normally begin in june and cause heavy rainfall in northern Punjab.
Effectiveness of monsoon winds

 It varies in amount timing and disturbution that is why monsoon rainfall is limited value to
agriculture.
 Monsoon rainfall in heavy showers are not useful for the crops because the land doesn’t absorb
the rain water.
 Most of monsoon rainfall drains away causing floods in low lying areas.
 But the river indus and its tributaries help to store extra water during rainy season that can be
later utilized in the dry season.
 This rainfall occurs during high temperatures conditions from June to September which results
in evapotranspiration
 Evapotranspiration is when the water turns into vapor and releases into air from plants and
trees.
 Advantage of it is that it creates a cooling effect and plants growth is also depended on it. Also
the water cycle also keeps on moving because of it
 Disadvantage is that too much of it can lead to water loss and need to irrigation to ensure crop
growth
 Crop planning is also difficult as amount and timing is fluctuating

Western depression (December till March)

 Originate from Mediterranean sea

 crosses Afghanistan and iran and reaches western pakistan
 After striking in northern and north west areas it moves to south and south west
 South west gets secondary western depression
 Peshawar and upper than Peshawar receives most of these rains
 By the time they reach balochistan they have lost a lot of moisture
 Quetta receives a lot of western depression but no monsoon rain
 Western depressions rains in winter the most

Effectiveness of western depression

 It is more effective because it comes in light showers that continues for everal days
 It is insufficient and unreliable and only occurs in the western and northern region.
 Coastal and southern pakistan have to depend on monsoon rainfall.

Effectiveness of winter precipitation in pakistan

 Advantages:
 Supplies water of HEP
 Barani crops in northern pakistan depend on winter rains
 It is more effective because it comes in light showers that continues for several days
 snow fall forms glaciers in karakoram hindu kash and Himalayas that feed the Indus system
 Disadvantages :
 Snowfall lowers temperature making cultivation impossible
 Transportation gets blocked causes damage to environment in form of avalanches

Convectional currents
  In the summer the earth surface heats up the warm air rises then cools and then condenses.
 Because of this it starts raining heavily with thunder and lightning with strong winds for a short
time.
 Only northern and north western pakistan receives convectional currents.
 Southern pakistan is deprived of convectional currents due to the temperature inversion layer
 The temperature inversion layer: prohibits the warm air to reach the condensation level
because of the criss cross pattern of winds and that’s why Karachi and adjoining areas don’t get
convectional currents

Relief rainfall

 Mountains are important

 Relief rainfall is related to the height of land
 It occurs when moist unstable air moves up a mountain and it cools and condensation occurs
and it rains on the wind ward sire of the mountain.
 The lee slope receives little or no rain due to the fact that when it reaches the lee ward side the
air warms up and gains moisture as it descends.
 The lee ward side is also known as rain shadow area
 Chitral and gilgit are examples of rain shadow area.

Tropical cyclone

 Originate in Arabian sea

 When temperature above the sea gets high low pressure area is created.
 The cool wind from surrounding areas gushes towards the sea.
 The speed of wind is around 240 km/h
 Warm air rises creating dark rain clouds with heavy rainfall
 The center of the storm is called the eye and is a clam area with clear sky above

Effectiveness of climate on life and economic activities of people in different regions

Highland zone

 Farming isn’t possible. People are involved in indoor activities like carpet weaving
 Transhumance is also practiced (moving flocks upto the cooler highlands in summer and
returning to the plains in winter)
 Many people lead a nomadic life meaning they move from one place to another and don’t stay
at one place for a long time.
 In extreme north many areas are inaccessible due to landslides and heavy snowfall hampering
transport link
 Job opportunities are also limited and economic activities are hard to carry out
 Western highlands and barren mountain of balochistan are sparsely populated due to harsh
weather conditions.
 There is a lack of water discourages human settlement
 Crop cultivation is also difficult

Arid zone
  Low annual rainfall
 Very hot during summers
 Its very deficient in moisture and very extreme temperature this its not ideal for habitation or
cultivation
 Most people are nomads and move with their animals in search of food and water,
 Due to scanty rainfall and excessive evapotranspiration a unique system of underground
irrigation karez is practiced.
 Karez is a narrow subterranean canal which starts from the base of the hills and mountains
where subsoil water is present. On reaching the surface it irrigates the orchads and fields many
of which are sheltered by date palms.
 This method prevents the water from being evaporated by the heat of the sun or absorbed by
the land.
 Highlands of balochistan have cold and dry climate
 Winter rains from depression are suitable for growing fruits like grapes apples peaches and
melon.
 Other crops are millet wheat and barley.
 Desert covers almost all of Sindh and southern Punjab.
 The area receives only 100mm annual rainfall.
 In such extreme heat and low precitipation crop cultivation isn’t possible
 But areas have been reclaimed thorugh farming by constructing perennial canals to irrigate the
western part of southern Punjab. Rice wheat cotton and oilseeds are cultivated
 Rest of thar desert is barren desert.
 The people have to wear thick clothes to protect themselves from hot winds and also turbans.
 They move from one place to another in search of water for themselves and their cattles.

Low land zone, semi-arid to arid

 Fertile Punjab plain

 Continental or extreme type of climate
 Summers are extremely hot
 Winters are cool to mild
 Economically it is the most productive agricultural region.
 There is a well developed canal irrigation to raise crops like wheat millet cotton sugarcane

Coastal zone

 Pakistan has delta coastline in Sindh and hilly makran coast in balochistan
 Karachi thatta badin Important for Sindh coast
 And ormara gwadar and pasni in makran coast
 Karachi has mild climate with low average percitipation and mostly occurs in july august
monsoon rains
 Winters are mild
 Summers are hot
 There is humidity but the cool sea breeze relieves the heat
 Winter months are the best time to visit Karachi and tourist visit in these months
 Makran coast is dry and hot
  The oceanic influence keeps the temperature lower than inland areas.
 Rainfall below 250mm
 Low precitipation causes a water problem in gwadar. Water is provided through reservoirs
dependent on rain.
 Moderate climate allows trade activities to occur throughout the year
 Sindh coast economic activities also occur throughout the year.
 Farming is possible all year
 Seaports are open all year to carry international trade
 Road and railway transport links are avalibale always
 Air flights are rarely cancelled .
 All types of industry ranging from cottage and small scale to large scale are operational all year
 But tropical cyclones can cause flooding damaging infrastructure
 Fishing is nearly impossible in rough seas thus fishing communities suffer economic losses due to
tropical cyclone.

River floods

Reasons of flooding

 Natural: heavy monsoon rain ,

 melting of snow during summer
 Human: cutting of trees on the foothill increases surface runoff
 Failure to strengthen or heighten embankments alongside rivers.
 Dam failure to store extra water due to less capacity

What can be done to prevent flood risks

 Planting tress on foothills to check the flow of running water

 Enlarging the river channel so that it can hold more water
 Building embankments on either side of the channel to prevent the spread of flood water
 Building reservoirs on the river to store water and control peak discharge
 Preventing building in areas where floods are most likely
 Warning people of floods through radio tv newspaper and masjid announcement.

Benefits of flood

 Bring nutrients to the land and contribute to the health of indus delta also known as wet land
 Spread a layer of alluvium which increases fertility of land
 Allowing river to overflow naturally can prevent more serious flooding downstreams
 Fish production increases in the Arabian sea due to nutrients in indus delta
 Recharge water supplies

Agricultural development

 Agriculture: is a primary industry concerned with obtaining raw materials from the ground for
immediate consumption or further processing
 Inputs
  Natural
 land
 soil
 climate
 water
 human / economic
 capital
 machines
 fertilizers labor
 knowledge
 land ownership
 traditions
 irrigation
 pesticides
 Processes
 Ploughing by Bullocks Rice
 Ploughing: turn up the earth of (an area of land) with a plough, especially before sowing.
 Soil Sowing by Labor
 Climate Irrigation by Traditional methods Maize
 Water Fertilizing by Natural Manure Vegetables
 Natural Manure Weeding by Labor
 Draft Power Threshing by Labors

Small scale subsistence farming

 It involves growing crops and raising livestock primarily for personal or family consumption
 It produces food and raw material for themselves and people who work for them.
 Any surplus for sale is a bonus.
 Most small scale farmers have difficulty in earning a living due to less income.
 They depend on nature.
Cash crop farming

 Is farming where the crop is grown for sale and to maximize profit
 Kharif crop: sown in summer (april – may) harvested in winters (oct – nov) (summer crop)
 Rahila sowed many many crops
 Rice sugarcane millet maize cotton
 Rabi crops: sown in winters (oct-now) and harvested in summers (april – may) (winter crop)
 When bob goes out playing
 Wheat barley groms oilseeds pulses
 Explain how to human factors can increase the production of wheat under the cash crop
farming system you should develop your answer? /4
 the use of machinery lie tractors can increase production by plughing at a much faster speed
and it can also multitask when combined with harvesting. Skilled labor can be hired which could
increase efficiency meaning increase which could also help in the decrease in scarcity of food

Wheat
  rabi crop
 temperature: 20 to 30 degree Celsius needs 120 days to grow with moist weather
 rainfall: moderate rainfall
 soil: moderately stiff loamy and clayey land must be well drained
 cultivation:
 barani farming is the farming which depends on rainfall for cultivation
 wheat doesn’t need a lot of water
 the land is irrigated twice
 one month after sowing and again one month before harvesting
 Describe the methods used to cultivate wheat on a small scale subsistence farming? /4
 Women fetch water from the wall for preparing meals and irrigation they also work on the fields
during harvesting time. During the harvest season if the crops are more in number then
unskilled labor is hired on low wages. Ploughing is done by a traditional wooden plough driven
by draught power provided by animals like cow. Deri seeds are also sown naturally by the family
member
 Seeds: high yielding varities, maxi pak and deri seeds

Rice

 kharif crop
 Temperature: 20 to 30 degree Celsius no cold season
 Rainfall: heavy rainfall of 1270mm but over 2000mm is ideal
 Requires plenty of rainfall during the 4-6 months growing period and sunny harvest time
 Soil: loamy or clayey. Impervious sub soil layer
 Cultivation: rice seeds are initially sown into beds or nurseries
 When the plants are about 23cm high they are transplanted into prepared fields.
 The fields have been flooded to a depth of 30.37cm.
 The water is then drained off for harvesting to begin.
 Threshing of rice can be done by people draught animal or by machine.
 After threshing rice is taken to rice mills for polishing and packing
 By product: rice husk may be used for making cardboard or mix with mud and water and used
to cover roots or houses.
 Variety of rice seeds:
 Irri pak (international rice research institute)
 High quality basmati rice

 Describe the process involved in growing of rice? /4

 Rice seeds are initially sown into beds. When they are 23cm they are transplanted into prepared
fields which have been flooded. The fields are kept full of water until rice are ripe. Then water is
drained and harvesting is done .
 Explain how the natural factors affect the production of rice? /4
 The soil should be loamy and clayey. A impervious sub soil is essential without them the
production will be lessened. Also the temperature can affect it an warm temperature is required
without it rice wont be properly produced.
  Define cultivation? /1
 Is the process of preparing land for agricultural purposes

Cotton

 Temperature: 25 to 35 degree Celsius

 Sensitive to frost
 Rainfall: 1000mm
 frequesnt shows with sunny period in between
 rain at picking spoils the bolls
 Soil: medium loam is best
 Cultivation: Cotton seeds are sown 30 to 45cm apart in april-may
 One month later the fields are irrigated
 Second irrigation takes place after a further 2 months.
 Cotton bolls ripen in dry months of oct and nov
 Plant reaches a height of 135 - 150
 After picking cotton bolls are loaded onto trucks to be transported to grinning
 mills seeds are separated from the lint
 By product: seeds (animal food, oil)
 Cotton seeds:
 old variety (pak upland, desi)
 hyv (high yielding variety) nayab 78, B557
 Explore the ideal natural growing conditions needed to produce cotton. You should develop
your answer? /4
 Temperatures should be ideal for growing cotton as cotton is cultivated in 25-35 and mild night
temperatures are better. Rainfall is also needed as it required 1000m to grow properly. Rainfall
should be frequent showers with sunny periods between
 Describe how environmental factors can affect cotton crop? /4
 The insufficient rain can also contribute in affecting the cotton crop and wen it is less it can be
very harmful and it can result in sutented growth thus irrigation could be a requirement. Also
the temperature can affect the crop. It damages the crop if the temperature is too high or too
low.

Sugarcane

 Temperature: 25 to 35 degree Celsius. Intolerant to frost

 Rainfall: up to 1520mm
 Soil: loamy and clay soil with silt are the best
 Application of minor and fertilizers containing nitrogen fosferious and potatas.
 Cultivation: 30cm tall are planted in April – May 30cm apart.
 If the land is well irrigated the plant grows 2m or more The crop can be rattooned (leave certain
pod) or harvested for 2 to 3 years After harvesting it seads up new shoots called ratoons.
  By products: bagasse (used in chipboard paper and animals feed) and molasses (used in
chemical industry in the manufacturing of citric acid yeast and rubber)
 Describe the process from the time the sugarcane is harvested? /4
 They first run it with chalk to remove the dirt and smell. Then it is washed, goes through rollers
then juice is extracted. Then crystallized to produce sugar.

Other crops

Maize

 Temperature: 35 degree Celsius

 Rainfall: 50- 500mm
 Uses: corn oil is extracted camflour custard powder, poultry fodder for livestock food grain
 Soil: porous soil
 Area: mardan charsadth mashera

Millet

 Temperature: 30 35 degree Celsius

 Rainfall: doesn’t require much rain. Drought resistant
 Uses: jowar and bajra 2 varieties grown as fodder for livestock food crop
 Soil: sandy soil
 Area: tharparker kohat and attock

Pulses

 Rich in protiens popular in lower diet

 Fixes nitrogen in the soil thereby helping in fertilize the soil
 Famrers pay little attention to them as they give low cash return
 Examples are moong , mash grams and masoor.

Oilseeds

 Extracted from seeds like sunflower seeds soyabean rape seeds mustard sarse rai seame castor
seeds
 However production of oil seeds is not sufficient to cater the local requirement
 Only 30% of the demand is met through local production but 70% is being imported

Tobacco

 More than 60% of pakistans tobacco is grown in kpk sawat mardan charsada manshera district.
 It is also grown in Punjab main tobacco growing districts are sahi wai ranjanpur tobatek Singh
Faisalabad and jhang

Types of subsistence livestock farming

Nomadic:

 They move from place to place along with their animals in search of food and water
  They rear sheep goat and camel
 Sheep and goat provide them with milk and meat and camel is used to load their belonging.
 When they find a grazing ground of water they settle there for weeks to allow the animals to get
fodder and water

Transhumance:

 Animals are kept in pastries high in the mountains in summers and brought down to lower
pastures in winters
 Pastoral farming = livestock
 Arable farming = crop
 Animals: goat sheep cattle yak dzo (cross between cattle and yak)
 Output: meat diary products and wool
 Subsistence farming: animals are reared by the people who consume them
 Areas: villages of Punjab and Sindh

Commercial farming:

 1 small scale private owners:

 Bulk of the livestock products are supplied by them
 They don’t use scientific methods
 Urban supplies of milk still comes from buffalo herds in the cities.
 Such farms often lack appropriate drainage water and supply of hygienic facilities
 Fodder is brought from the nearest crop growing area
 By product: cow dung which is used as fuel of fertilizer
 2 large scale by government military owners:
 Australian desingned dairy farms for Islamabad Karachi and government dairy farms for quetta.
 Scientific methods such as cross breeding to increase fertility rate
 Better nutritional diets are in use many which is by government
 Early weaning deits are introduced for cow and buffalo calves to save milk for human
consumption

Main livestock resources

Cattle

 Most common animal

 Assisted by camle and mules to plough and transport loads and to help work
 They also supply meat and milk
 They are well distributed except rugged mountains of balochistan and thar desert areas
 Cattle breed:
 Bhangnari: draught power and found in plains of Punjab and Sindh
 Dhani: used for draught power and found in northern mountains
  Red sindhi: used for milk found in lower sindh
 Sahiwal: used for milk and found in Punjab.
 Thari: used for draught and milk and found in tharparkar

Buffalos

 Are the main sources of milk and meat

 They aren’t important as work animal
 They produce about 70% milk supply
 When they get old and stop producing milk they are slaughtered for meat
 They like to remain in water most of the time

Sheep and goat

 Kept for meat and wool

 Mutton is preferred to beef and is in great demand in urban areas
 Sheep and goats are sure footed meaning don’t lose their balance and can survive in a variety of
natural topographical and climatic environment
 Don’t need large grazing fields and can nibble on thin grass

Poultry

 Domesticated birds used for egg and

 Demand increased
 People prefer white meat chicken
 Poultry farms built for this purpose

Importance of livestock farming

 Used as draught power in the traditional field

 Supply of nutritional food for the people like milk eggs ghee butter
 Raw material for domestic industry of processed milk
 Processed meat and milk products
 Can also give wool

Problems of livestock farming

 Few veterinary hospitals and vaccination facilities

 Grazing unirrigated fields cause soil erosion by wind when they dry out
 Unhygienic conditions in animal farms leading to unhealthy animals
 Primitive breeding methods resulting on low quality animals
 Refers to traditional, unscientific practices of animal breeding that rely on uncontrolled mating,
resulting in low-quality animals with poor productivity and inconsistent traits.
 Lack of grazing grounds for cattle and sheep resulting in overgrazing
 Inadequate facilities for storage of meat
 High prices of animals feed. Difficult to keep in cities near their market
Development strategy for livestock in pakistan

 Selective breeding and cross breeding for better quality animals

 Programmes to fatten cows for milk and meat
 Control of diseases and better animal farms
 Improvement in livestock research farms
 Improvement in vaccination facilities
 Cultivation of fodder crops to turn agricultural land into grazing fields