Glacial melting in the Tibetan Plateau affects the water resources of millions of people. This study finds that—partly owing to changes in atmospheric circulations and precipitation patterns—the most intensive glacier shrinkage is in the Himalayan region, whereas glacial retreat in the Pamir Plateau region is less apparent.

Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings

Regional changes in extreme temperature records over Pakistan and their relation to Pacific variability

This work employed recent model outputs from coupled model intercomparison project phase six to simulate surface mean temperature during the June–July–August (JJA) and December–January–February (DJF) seasons for 1970–2014 over Pakistan. The climatic research unit (CRU TS4.03) dataset was utilized as benchmark data to analyze models’ performance. The JJA season exhibited the highest mean temperature, whilst DJF displayed the lowest mean temperature in the whole study period. The JJA monthly empirical cumulative distribution frequency (ECDF) range (26 to 28 °C) was less than that of DJF (7 to 10 °C) since JJA matched closely to CRU. The JJA and DJF seasons are warming, with higher warming trends in winters than in summers. On temporal scale, models performed better in JJA with overall low bias, low RMSE (root mean square error), and higher positive CC (correlation coefficient) values. DJF performance was undermined with higher bias and RMSE with weak positive correlation estimates. Overall, CanESM5, CESM2, CESM2-WACCM, GFDL-CM4, HadGEM-GC31-LL, MPI-ESM1-2-LR, MPI-ESM1-2-HR, and MRI-ESM-0 performed better for JJA and DJF.

Evaluation of Historical CMIP6 Model Simulations of Seasonal Mean Temperature over Pakistan during 1970–2014

Impact of meteorological drought on agriculture production at different scales in Punjab, Pakistan

Climate change can disrupt food availability and reduce access to food by affecting agricultural production in the world. Thus, the current empirical study investigates the impacts of climate change on rice production over the different regions of Punjab, Pakistan for the period of 1979–2018. The bound test co-integration method with the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) was used to explore the symmetric relationship between climate change and rice production. Furthermore, this study employed a nonlinear ARDL (NARDL) approach to investigate the asymmetric relationship between climate change and rice production. The results of symmetric ARDL indicate that in the long run there is a negative relationship between average maximum temperature and production of rice in all three regions. The results indicate that in the long-run average minimum temperature (Tmin) has a significant and negative association with the production of rice during the kharif season in Southern and Western Punjab. While in Central Punjab, minimum temperature (Tmin) has a positive association with the production of rice. The rainfall indicates that in the long run as rainfall increases in Central Punjab, it would cause to reduce the production of rice, while in the Southern and Western Punjab increased rainfall during the kharif season cause an increase in the production of rice. Moreover, the results of NARDL indicate an asymmetric relationship between climate and rice production. The dynamic multiplier analysis also supports the results by showing the dominance of the high impact of a positive and negative component of temperature on the production of rice in investigating three regions of Punjab, Pakistan.

Illuminating Empirical Evidence of Climate Change: Impacts on Rice Production in the Punjab Regions, Pakistan

Identifying the changes in precipitation and temperature at a regional scale is of great importance for the quantification of climate change. This research investigates the changes in precipitation and surface air temperature indices in the seven irrigation zones of Punjab Province during the last 50 years; this province is a very important region in Pakistan in terms of agriculture and irrigated farming. The reliability of the data was examined using double mass curve and autocorrelation analysis. The magnitude and significance of the precipitation and temperature were visualized by various statistical methods. The stations’ trends were spatially distributed to better understand climatic variability across the elevation gradient of the study region. The results showed a significant warming trend in annual Tmin (minimum temperature) and Tmean (mean temperature) in different irrigation zones. However, Tmax (maximum temperature) had insignificant variations except in the high elevation Thal zone. Moreover, the rate of Tmin increased faster than that of Tmax, resulting in a reduction in the diurnal temperature range (DTR). On a seasonal scale, warming was more pronounced during spring, followed by that in winter and autumn. However, the summer season exhibited insignificant negative trends in most of the zones and gauges, except in the higher-altitude Thal zone. Overall, Bahawalpur and Faisalabad are the zones most vulnerable to warming annually and in the spring, respectively. Furthermore, the elevation-dependent trend (EDT) indicated larger increments in Tmax for higher-elevation (above 500 m a.s.l.) stations, compared to the lower-elevation ones, on both annual and seasonal scales. In contrast, the Tmin showed opposite trends at higher- and lower-elevation stations, while a moderate increase was witnessed in Tmean trends from lower to higher altitude over the study region. An increasing trend in DTR was observed at higher elevation, while a decreasing trend was noticed at the lower-elevation stations. The analysis of precipitation data indicated wide variability over the entire region during the study period. Most previous studies reported no change or a decreasing trend in precipitation in this region. Conversely, our findings indicated the cumulative increase in annual and autumn precipitation amounts at zonal and regional level. However, EDT analysis identified the decrease in precipitation amounts at higher elevation (above 1000 m a.s.l.) and increase at the lower-elevation stations. Overall, our findings revealed unprecedented evidence of regional climate change from the perspectives of seasonal warming and variations in precipitation and temperature extremes (Tmax and Tmin) particularly at higher-elevation sites, resulting in a variability of the DTR, which could have a significant influence on water resources and on the phenology of vegetation and crops at zonal and station level in Punjab.

https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/11/9/1916/pdf

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Precipitation and Temperature in Punjab, Pakistan

Spatial and temporal precipitation data acquisition is highly important for hydro-meteorological applications. Gridded precipitation products (GPPs) offer an opportunity to estimate precipitation at different time and resolution. Though, the products have numerous discrepancies that need to be evaluated against in-situ records. The present study is the first of its kind to highlight the performance evaluation of gauge based (GB) and satellite based (SB) GPPs at annual, winter, and summer monsoon scale by using multiple statistical approach during the period of 1979–2017 and 2003–2017, respectively. The result revealed that the temporal magnitude of all the GPPs was different and deviate up to 100–200 mm with overall spatial pattern of underestimation (GB product) and overestimation (SB product) from north to south gradient. The degree of accuracy of GB products with observed precipitation decreases with the increase in the magnitude of precipitation and vice versa for SB precipitation products. Furthermore, the observed precipitation revealed the positive trend with multiple turning points during the period 1979–2005. However, the gentle increase with no obvious break point has been detected during the period of 2005–2017. The large inter-annual variability and trends slope of the reference data series were well captured by Global Precipitation Climatology Centre (GPCC) and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) products and outperformed the relative GPPs in terms of higher R2 values of ≥ 0.90 and lower values of estimated RME ≤ 25% at annual and summer monsoon season. However, Climate Research Unit (CRU) performed better during winter estimates as compared with in-situ records. In view of significant error and discrepancies, regional correction factors for each GPPs were introduced that can be useful for future concerned projects over the study region. The study highlights the importance of evaluation by the careful selection of potential GPPs for the future hydro-climate studies over the similar regions like Punjab Province.

Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Global Precipitation Products Over the Largest Agriculture Region in Pakistan

Reliable and accurate temperature data acquisition is not only important for hydroclimate research but also crucial for the management of water resources and agriculture. Gridded data products (GDPs) offer an opportunity to estimate and monitor temperature indices at a range of spatiotemporal resolutions; however, their reliability must be quantified by spatiotemporal comparison against in situ records. Here, we present spatial and temporal assessments of temperature indices (Tmax, Tmin, Tmean, and DTR) products against the reference data during the period of 1979–2015 over Punjab Province, Pakistan. This region is considered as a center for agriculture and irrigated farming. Our study is the first spatiotemporal statistical evaluation of the performance and selection of potential GDPs over the study region and is based on statistical indicators, trend detection, and abrupt change analysis. Results revealed that the CRU temperature indices (Tmax, Tmin, Tmean, and DTR) outperformed the other GDPs as indicated by their higher CC and R2 but lower bias and RMSE. Furthermore, trend and abrupt change analysis indicated the superior performances of the CRU Tmin and Tmean products. However, the Tmax and DTR products were less accurate for detecting trends and abrupt transitions in temperature. The tested GDPs as well as the reference data series indicate significant warming during the period of 1997–2001 over the study region. Differences between GDPs revealed discrepancies of 1-2°C when compared with different products within the same category and with reference data. The accuracy of all GDPs was particularly poor in the northern Punjab, where underestimates were greatest. This preliminary evaluation of the different GDPs will be useful for assessing inconsistencies and the capabilities of the products prior to their reliable utilization in hydrological and meteorological applications particularly over arid and semiarid regions.

/pdf/spatiotemporal-assessment-of-temperature-data-products-for-4e9a9wxil0.pdf

Spatiotemporal Assessment of Temperature Data Products for the Detection of Warming Trends and Abrupt Transitions over the Largest Irrigated Area of Pakistan

We conducted this study to analyzed the current workload of secondary school teachers in the city of Faisalabad and the effects of workload on the motivation among teachers. A total of 112 randomly selected secondary school teachers participated in the data collection process on a structured and validated questionnaire. Collected data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Descriptive statistical techniques were applied to the data. The results indicated that an average of 65.8 students were in the class and teachers had an average of 6.02 periods in a day. The average number of courses taught was 4.24 and the average number of classes managed by each teacher was 4.32. Extensive documentary work, managing extra time for co-curricular activities and curriculum activities and involvement in irrelevant activities were the leading activities exacerbating the workload. The workload of teachers had adverse effects on class performance, teaching quality, teaching skills and health, as perceived by the respondents. Teachers suggested a collaborative working environment, discouraging irrelevant assignments, incentives for the teachers for performing extra duties, and management of workload to improve the motivation level of teachers. This study suggested a teacher-friendly policy which could keep teachers easy to boost their level of motivation for a more conducive learning environment Teachers should be imparted with bimonthly training, especially on workload management and stress management.

Analyzing the Workload and its Effects on Teachers’ Motivation in the City of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Agricultural growth is obligatory for sustainable rural development and meeting the food requirements for the increasing population. Weeds put biotic stress on the crops and cause yield decline eventually. In this study, we explored the effect of socio-economic attributes of the farmers on the adoption of weed management practices (WMP) in four cropping systems (Rice-Wheat, Rice, Potato, Rice-Maize and Rice-Peas) of the Punjab, Province. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with the 356 respondents chosen through a proportionate sampling method from the District Gujranwala of Punjab. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences and frequency, percentage and regression analysis was applied to the data. Results confirmed that respondents' age, education and income were statistically significant (P0.05) with the adoption of WMP. As for as information sources were concerned, the association was significant in R-P (P0.05) and R-Peas (P0.05) cropping systems. This study endorsed that socio-economic characteristic had a key role in technological adoption. To accelerate the adoption, training programs for the farmers, provision of quality weedicides, subsidized inputs and awareness campaigns are suggested. 

Naima Nawaz

Papers

Temporal and Spatial Characteristics of Precipitation and Temperature in Punjab, Pakistan

Spatio-Temporal Assessment of Global Precipitation Products Over the Largest Agriculture Region in Pakistan

Spatiotemporal Assessment of Temperature Data Products for the Detection of Warming Trends and Abrupt Transitions over the Largest Irrigated Area of Pakistan

Analyzing the Workload and its Effects on Teachers’ Motivation in the City of Faisalabad, Pakistan

Linking Socio-Economic Traits with the Adoption of Weed Management Practices (WMP) in Punjab, Pakistan