STUDY TOUR REPORT
By: Simrah Abbas

INTRODUCTION
On August 25, 2020, a study tour to Keenjhar Lake— also known as Kalri Lake— was organized. A group of 11 people from National Dialogue on Climate Change went to visit it, in order to learn and get on-field knowledge of water supply system to Karachi and observe the effects in terms of climate. Copper mug try-hard pitchfork pour-over freegan heirloom neutra air plant cold-pressed tacos poke beard tote bag. Heirloom echo park mlkshk tote bag selvage hot chicken authentic tumeric truffaut hexagon try-hard chambray.

TRIP OBJECTIVE:
The objective of the trip was to examine the effects on the Lake in terms of climate, and get a concrete knowledge of the water supply system to Karachi. Various effects in terms of Climate were observed during the trip.

FIELD OBSERVATION:
Keenjhar is a 122 km away from Karachi and 18 km from the town of Thatta. It has length of about 24 km, width of 6 km, and capacity of 0.53 million acre feet. It is one of the largest freshwater lakes of Pakistan. It serves as the source of drinking water for Thatta and Karachi The freshwater supply to Keenjhar is through KB feeder which originates from Kotri Barrage (Indus river) Considering its natural terrain is beneficial for migrating birds thus migrating birds migrate Keenjhar Lake View to Keenjhar during Winters like: Flamingoes, ducks, cormorants, waders, herons, egrets, ibises, terns, coots, and gulls. It is also well known for a popular Sindhi folklore Noori Jam Tamachi. It is also a famous tourist resort. However, the blue water of this lake has been degraded due to human-activities and also waste-water entering into this lake has compromised its water quality. In the vicinity of the town, following phenomena in terms of Climate were observed:

Water logging:
Water logging occurs either due to intensive irrigation or due to stagnant water for a long period. Such is case with Sindh, thus water logs due to either of the reasons mentioned. Many lands in the area that were water logged were observed.
Erosion:
Erosion occurs due to weathering or transportation of soil or rocks and other surface materials. As the Indus Delta spreads in Thatta and other Districts, due to anthropogenic changes sever sea erosion has been observed. It was surveyed that the banks are eroding.
Land sliding:
Land sliding is usually caused by rain, earth quake, or other factors that create an unstable slope. As due to extreme Monsoon rainfall land sliding was observed during the trip.

THUNDERSTROM AND URBAN FLOODING:
From Karachi to Thatta there was thunderstorm and heavy rainfall throughout the day. The rain kept proliferating the entire day. According to Pakistan Meteorological Department, it was record breaking spell. Karachi’s PAF Faisal Base recorded up to 345 millimeters. This spell caused urban flooding and roads turned into waterways thus affected normal day activities. Subsequently there was power outage in all over Karachi; losses of lives were also reported as result of this havoc.

JHIMPIR WIND CORRIDOR:
A wind power project of Burj Capital, a Dubai-based investment company— is established in Jhimpir. It is in the Gharo-Keti Bandar wind corridor and is a high quality wind resource capable of generating over 50,000 MW of clean and affordable electricity.

DISPLACED PEOPLE:
As Pakistan is one of those countries that has large number of internally displaced people. They were seen to accommodate alongside the roads in shanties. Their shanties were slashed due to heavy downpour and flooding.

CONCLUSION:
The trip was successful and the objective of the trip was achieved. The team learned and got to experience the effects in terms of climate and field knowledge.