Latest news with #Gwadar-based
The Diplomat
28-07-2025
- Climate
- The Diplomat
What Is Behind Gwadar's Continued Water Woes?
The thirsty port city is once again fighting for water, with no permanent solution in sight. Nisar Dagar near Pishukan in Pakistan's Gwadar district, which was previously a wetland, is now completely dry due to the ongoing drought. In Gwadar, Pakistan's multimillion-dollar port city, hundreds of women and children have been protesting water shortages since early June. They bring empty buckets and containers to their protest site at the Fish Harbor Road to block one of the routes to Gwadar Port. Temperatures in Gwadar can go as high as 45 degrees Celsius. That doesn't deter them; they keep returning to the streets, protesting, blocking roads and burning tires — all in the hope that someone in power might address the ongoing water crisis. With drought taking over and water levels in dams dropping to historic lows, questions are being raised not just about the current water crisis, but about decades of neglect that have pushed Gwadar to this situation. How will Gwadar's 260,000 people survive without a sustainable and long-term strategy in place? One of Pakistan's most important cities, Gwadar is the gateway to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project of China's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Already, China has spent around $28 billion on CPEC and some $230 million on Gwadar city, including its water infrastructure. Yet, something as basic as access to water remains an unresolved issue for the people of Gwadar. What Is Behind the Crisis? Gwadar's main source of water is rainfall. But weather patterns have been changing, and like the rest of Pakistan, Balochistan's southern coast, where Gwadar is located, is beginning to suffer the impacts of climate change. Winter downpours that were once common in the region have become a rarity, and when they do arrive, they bring destructive flooding, as was seen in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2022, and 2024. Despite these episodes of heavy rainfall, droughts have also become more frequent and of longer duration. Since 2012, Gwadar has faced acute water shortages not only due to dry spells, but also because authorities have failed to plan and prepare for changing weather patterns. 'This crisis is not merely a result of absolute water scarcity, but a consequence of ineffective water governance, lack of climate change adaptation, and the absence of policies that reflect the realities on the ground,' Pazeer Ahmad, a Gwadar-based researcher and hydrologist, told The Diplomat. 'Solutions such as water conservation, storage, and groundwater recharge are underutilized,' he said. For over two decades, the Ankara Kaur dam was Gwadar's only source of water. As the population grew, so did the number of infrastructure projects like the Gwadar Port and several other projects under CPEC, including roads in and around the city, the East Express Way, a new international airport, and a number of educational institutions. Hence, the Ankara Kaur dam was no longer sufficient to meet Gwadar's needs. Low rainfall and a massive build-up of silt in the 17,000-acre Ankara Kaur reservoir worsened the problem. In 2016, two new dams — Sawad and Shaadi Kaur dams — were completed. Construction of the Sheizank and Shanzani dams followed. Yet all these dams failed to end the water crisis. 'Ankara Kaur dam is completely dry,' Bahram Baloch, a local journalist, told The Diplomat. 'Currently, the Sawad dam is the only one providing water. But its water will last for the next three to four months, before it also completely dries,' he said. There are severe water shortages in Gwadar. 'People receive water once every ten to fifteen days,' said Nabi Buksh Baloch, a resident of Gwadar Old City. He told The Diplomat that households store water in underground tanks. 'Wealthy families have larger or more than one underground tank and use pumps that pull more water. This makes it harder for others to access water,' he said. 'Pipelines linking the Shaadi Kaur dam with Gwadar city have been installed. But these are not supplying water as funds are needed for electricity, pumping, and maintenance of infrastructure. So, a potentially valuable water source remains unused,' Bahram Baloch pointed out. Complicating the issue, water supply is overseen by two departments — the Gwadar Development Authority (GDA) and Public Health and Engineering (PHE). 'Although water supply has been the PHE's responsibility, of late, the GDA has also gotten involved. They were the ones to install pipeline connections from Sawad to Gwadar City. Both want to control water projects and this could be causing delays,' Nasir Rahim Sohrabi, an activist and president of a local development organization, said. Why Have Desalination Plants Failed? There is the water of the Arabian Sea that Gwadar can draw on. To this end, 11 desalination plants have been set up in Gwadar district, but none currently provides water to the city. 'Although desalination is a viable solution, it is a costly process and needs constant power supply, which the region lacks, Sohrabi told the Diplomat. Many of these plants were set up with Chinese funding. For example, a 1.2 million-gallon-per-day (MGD) desalination plant was installed through CPEC funding at an estimated cost of $12.7 million. Another 5 MGD plant costing $5 billion is under construction. In 2023, China also donated a desalination plant, which it says provides 5,000 tons of potable water per day. New plants are being set up when existing ones are not functional. 'Although such plants may create the impression that the crisis is being taken seriously, each new plant is only a new photo session opportunity for the successive governments,' Nabi Buksh Baloch said. 'Each desalination plant,' he said, 'brings in more funding. That also means more opportunities for those in power to misuse the funds.' The Quick Fix of Trucking in Water Authorities have also tried trucking in water. During droughts in 2012 and 2017, for example, when Gwadar only had pipeline connections with the Ankara Kaur dam, the government paid tanker companies to truck in water from the Meerani dam, located in the neighboring district of Kech, around 150 kilometers from Gwadar city. This was a burden on the government. According to Nabi Buksh Baloch, 'many officials from the PHE and the local administration allegedly pocketed funds meant for water supply. Consequently, many tanker owners went unpaid and they often cut off water supply to residents.' These days, the government is no longer hiring tanker companies for water supply to Gwadar. 'So now when supply is short, those who can afford it buy water from tankers, which costs around $70-$90 per tank, that too for contaminated water, as the trucks source it from nearby ponds,' Nabi Buksh Baloch said. Is Corruption Fueling the Crisis? Corruption is yet another issue. Earlier this month, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Balochistan Assembly pointed out financial irregularities in the functioning of the PHE. This isn't the first time that such corruption has been laid bare. In 2021, the National Accountability Bureau's Balochistan chapter detected corruption to the tune of $4.46 million in one of Gwadar's water desalination projects. In addition to these massive corruption cases, 'residents are often forced to pay a bribe to the 'valve-man' if they want to fill their home tanks. While officers at higher levels benefit from massive funds, the lower staff exploit residents by demanding petty bribes,' said Nabi Buksh Baloch. Can the Crisis be Resolved? Despite several dams being constructed, desalination plants being installed, and billions of rupees being spent on water infrastructure, Gwadar's water woes persist. The water crisis is not the result of water scarcity alone. Failure of effective planning, lack of transparency and accountability, misuse of funds, and lack of climate adaptation measures are also to blame. Larger dams can store more water during rainy seasons. These could help deal with water shortage during droughts. These dams need to be well-connected with the city through pipeline systems. There is also no need for more desalination plants, but it's crucial to make operational the ones already set up. 'Gwadar is not without water resources. It has the Arabian Sea, groundwater reserves in Dasht and Jiwani, and surface water of Sawad and Shadi Kaur dams,' Ahmad said, adding that 'what's lacking is the political will and capacity to manage these resources and climate-resilient planning.'
The Independent
06-02-2025
- Climate
- The Independent
A city looked at the sea as a blessing. It's now sinking into it
The ocean was once a blessing for the coastal Pakistani city of Gwadar, which relies heavily on fishing and domestic tourism. Now, after a decade of extreme weather, it's become an existential threat. Last February, Gwadar was briefly cut off from the rest of Pakistan amid nearly 30 consecutive hours of rain. Bridges were washed out, houses were destroyed and huge craters appeared in the roads. The city, which is home to about 90,000 people, is built on sand dunes and bordered by the Arabian Sea on three sides. Its low elevation makes it vulnerable to climate change — which has already impacted Pakistan in catastrophic ways. 'It's no less than an island nation situation,' warned Gwadar-based hydrologist Pazeer Ahmed. 'Many low-lying areas in the town will be partially or completely submerged if the sea level continues to rise.' Warming oceans mean bigger and more powerful waves, and those waves get whipped higher by summer monsoon winds. Warmer air holds more moisture — about 7 per cent more per degree Celsius — and that means more big rain events. 'Waves have become more violent due to the rising sea temperatures and eroded beaches,' said Abdul Rahim, deputy environment director at Gwadar Development Authority. 'The tidal actions and patterns have changed. Hundreds of homes have been washed away. It is very alarming.' Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 20 centimetres between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's projected to rise about 1.3 centimetres more by 2040. In areas near Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park, and rocks have cascaded onto the shore. Beaches run flat for dozens of kilometres because no structures remain on it. Authorities have built seawalls from stone or concrete to hold back saltwater intrusion. But they're a small solution to a massive problem as Gwadar's people and businesses are fighting climate change on different fronts. Saltwater pools on government land, salt crystals glistening in the sunshine. In the Shado Band neighbourhood, former local councillor Qadir Baksh fretted about water seeping up through the ground and into his courtyard every day, held at bay only by regular pumping. Dozens of houses have the same problem, he said. Officials, including Ahmed and Rahim, said changes in land use and unauthorised building are worsening flooding. Locals said some major construction projects have destroyed traditional drainage pathways. Gwadar is the centerpiece of a massive Chinese-led initiative to create an overland route between its western Xinjiang region and the Arabian Sea through Gwadar. Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the town to create a deep seaport, an international airport, expressways and other infrastructure. The more sensitive projects, especially the port, are tightly secured by the Pakistani military, out of sight and off-limits to the public. But there is no proper sewage or drainage system for residents despite a decade of foreign investment, and Gwadar's porosity, high water table, rising sea levels, and heavier rainfall are rocket fuel for the town's vulnerability. There's nowhere for the water to go. 'In the past when it rained, the water disappeared up to 10 days later,' said Baksh. 'But the rain that came last year hasn't gone. The water rises from the ground with such speed it will reach the four walls of my home if we don't run the generator every day to extract it. Officials say it's because of climate change but, whatever it is, we're suffering.' Gwadar's fishing community is also hurting. Catches are smaller, native fish are disappearing, and migration patterns and fishing seasons have changed, said Ahmed and Rahim. There is also algae bloom and the invasion of unwanted marine species like pufferfish. Illegal fishing and foreign trawlers are responsible for a few of these things, but it's mostly rising sea temperatures. People have migrated from places like Dasht and Kulanch because of water scarcity. What agriculture there was in Gwadar's surrounding areas is vanishing due to loss of farmland and livestock deaths, according to locals. It's part of a wider pattern in which Pakistan's farmers are seeing declining crop yields and increasing crop diseases due to climate extremes, particularly floods, droughts and heat waves, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 'There are heat waves and dust storms in Gwadar,' said Ahmed. 'But the main impact of climate change here is that there is too much water and not enough of it. If nothing is done to address this problem, we will have no option but to retreat.'
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it's become a curse
GWADAR, Pakistan (AP) — There was a time when few people in the coastal Pakistani city of Gwadar understood what climate change was. After a decade of extreme weather, many more do. Rain battered Gwadar for almost 30 consecutive hours last February. Torrents washed out roads, bridges, and lines of communication, briefly cutting the peninsula town off from the rest of Pakistan. Homes look like bombs have struck them and drivers swerve to avoid craters where asphalt used to be. Gwadar is in Balochistan, an arid, mountainous, and vast province in Pakistan's southwest that has searing summers and harsh winters. The city, with about 90,000 people, is built on sand dunes and bordered by the Arabian Sea on three sides, at a low elevation that makes it vulnerable to climate change in a country that has already seen its share of catastrophe from it. 'It's no less than an island nation situation,' warned Gwadar-based hydrologist Pazeer Ahmed. 'Many low-lying areas in the town will be partially or completely submerged if the sea level continues to rise.' The sea, once a blessing for Gwadar's fishing and domestic tourism sectors, has become an existential threat to lives and livelihoods. Warming oceans mean bigger and more powerful waves, and those waves get whipped higher by summer monsoon winds. Warmer air holds more moisture -- about 7% more per degree Celsius (4% per degree Fahrenheit) — and that means more big rain events. 'Waves have become more violent due to the rising sea temperatures and eroded beaches,' said Abdul Rahim, deputy environment director at Gwadar Development Authority. 'The tidal actions and patterns have changed. Hundreds of homes have been washed away. It is very alarming.' Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 8 inches (almost 20 centimeters) between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's projected to rise another half-inch (about 1.3 centimeters) by 2040. In areas near Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park, and rocks have cascaded onto the shore. Beaches run flat for dozens of kilometers because no structures remain on it. Authorities have built seawalls from stone or concrete to hold back saltwater intrusion. But they're a small solution to a massive problem as Gwadar's people and businesses are fighting climate change on different fronts. Saltwater pools on government land, salt crystals glistening in the sunshine. In the Shado Band neighbourhood, former local councillor Qadir Baksh fretted about water seeping up through the ground and into his courtyard every day, held at bay only by regular pumping. Dozens of houses have the same problem, he said. Officials, including Ahmed and Rahim, said changes in land use and unauthorized building are worsening flooding. Locals said some major construction projects have destroyed traditional drainage pathways. Gwadar is the centerpiece of a massive Chinese-led initiative to create an overland route between its western Xinjiang region and the Arabian Sea through Gwadar. Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the town to create a deep seaport, an international airport, expressways and other infrastructure. The more sensitive projects, especially the port, are tightly secured by the Pakistani military, out of sight and off-limits to the public. But there is no proper sewage or drainage system for residents despite a decade of foreign investment, and Gwadar's porosity, high water table, rising sea levels, and heavier rainfall are rocket fuel for the town's vulnerability. There's nowhere for the water to go. 'In the past when it rained, the water disappeared up to 10 days later,' said Baksh. 'But the rain that came last year hasn't gone. The water rises from the ground with such speed it will reach the four walls of my home if we don't run the generator every day to extract it. Officials say it's because of climate change but, whatever it is, we're suffering.' Gwadar's fishing community is also hurting. Catches are smaller, native fish are disappearing, and migration patterns and fishing seasons have changed, said Ahmed and Rahim. There is also algae bloom and the invasion of unwanted marine species like pufferfish. Illegal fishing and foreign trawlers are responsible for a few of these things, but it's mostly rising sea temperatures. People have migrated from places like Dasht and Kulanch because of water scarcity. What agriculture there was in Gwadar's surrounding areas is vanishing due to loss of farmland and livestock deaths, according to locals. It's part of a wider pattern in which Pakistan's farmers are seeing declining crop yields and increasing crop diseases due to climate extremes, particularly floods, droughts and heat waves, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 'There are heat waves and dust storms in Gwadar,' said Ahmed. 'But the main impact of climate change here is that there is too much water and not enough of it. If nothing is done to address this problem, we will have no option but to retreat.' ____ Associated Press data journalist Mary Katherine Wildeman contributed. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at Riazat Butt, The Associated Press
Yahoo
06-02-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it's become a curse
GWADAR, Pakistan (AP) — There was a time when few people in the coastal Pakistani city of Gwadar understood what climate change was. After a decade of extreme weather, many more do. Rain battered Gwadar for almost 30 consecutive hours last February. Torrents washed out roads, bridges, and lines of communication, briefly cutting the peninsula town off from the rest of Pakistan. Homes look like bombs have struck them and drivers swerve to avoid craters where asphalt used to be. Gwadar is in Balochistan, an arid, mountainous, and vast province in Pakistan's southwest that has searing summers and harsh winters. The city, with about 90,000 people, is built on sand dunes and bordered by the Arabian Sea on three sides, at a low elevation that makes it vulnerable to climate change in a country that has already seen its share of catastrophe from it. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. 'It's no less than an island nation situation,' warned Gwadar-based hydrologist Pazeer Ahmed. 'Many low-lying areas in the town will be partially or completely submerged if the sea level continues to rise.' The sea, once a blessing for Gwadar's fishing and domestic tourism sectors, has become an existential threat to lives and livelihoods. Warming oceans mean bigger and more powerful waves, and those waves get whipped higher by summer monsoon winds. Warmer air holds more moisture -- about 7% more per degree Celsius (4% per degree Fahrenheit) — and that means more big rain events. 'Waves have become more violent due to the rising sea temperatures and eroded beaches,' said Abdul Rahim, deputy environment director at Gwadar Development Authority. 'The tidal actions and patterns have changed. Hundreds of homes have been washed away. It is very alarming.' Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 8 inches (almost 20 centimeters) between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's projected to rise another half-inch (about 1.3 centimeters) by 2040. In areas near Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park, and rocks have cascaded onto the shore. Beaches run flat for dozens of kilometers because no structures remain on it. Authorities have built seawalls from stone or concrete to hold back saltwater intrusion. But they're a small solution to a massive problem as Gwadar's people and businesses are fighting climate change on different fronts. Saltwater pools on government land, salt crystals glistening in the sunshine. In the Shado Band neighbourhood, former local councillor Qadir Baksh fretted about water seeping up through the ground and into his courtyard every day, held at bay only by regular pumping. Dozens of houses have the same problem, he said. Officials, including Ahmed and Rahim, said changes in land use and unauthorized building are worsening flooding. Locals said some major construction projects have destroyed traditional drainage pathways. Gwadar is the centerpiece of a massive Chinese-led initiative to create an overland route between its western Xinjiang region and the Arabian Sea through Gwadar. Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the town to create a deep seaport, an international airport, expressways and other infrastructure. The more sensitive projects, especially the port, are tightly secured by the Pakistani military, out of sight and off-limits to the public. But there is no proper sewage or drainage system for residents despite a decade of foreign investment, and Gwadar's porosity, high water table, rising sea levels, and heavier rainfall are rocket fuel for the town's vulnerability. There's nowhere for the water to go. 'In the past when it rained, the water disappeared up to 10 days later,' said Baksh. 'But the rain that came last year hasn't gone. The water rises from the ground with such speed it will reach the four walls of my home if we don't run the generator every day to extract it. Officials say it's because of climate change but, whatever it is, we're suffering.' Gwadar's fishing community is also hurting. Catches are smaller, native fish are disappearing, and migration patterns and fishing seasons have changed, said Ahmed and Rahim. There is also algae bloom and the invasion of unwanted marine species like pufferfish. Illegal fishing and foreign trawlers are responsible for a few of these things, but it's mostly rising sea temperatures. People have migrated from places like Dasht and Kulanch because of water scarcity. What agriculture there was in Gwadar's surrounding areas is vanishing due to loss of farmland and livestock deaths, according to locals. It's part of a wider pattern in which Pakistan's farmers are seeing declining crop yields and increasing crop diseases due to climate extremes, particularly floods, droughts and heat waves, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 'There are heat waves and dust storms in Gwadar,' said Ahmed. 'But the main impact of climate change here is that there is too much water and not enough of it. If nothing is done to address this problem, we will have no option but to retreat.' ____ Associated Press data journalist Mary Katherine Wildeman contributed. ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Hill
06-02-2025
- Climate
- The Hill
The sea was once a blessing for the Pakistani city of Gwadar. But it's become a curse
GWADAR, Pakistan (AP) — There was a time when few people in the coastal Pakistani city of Gwadar understood what climate change was. After a decade of extreme weather, many more do. Rain battered Gwadar for almost 30 consecutive hours last February. Torrents washed out roads, bridges, and lines of communication, briefly cutting the peninsula town off from the rest of Pakistan. Homes look like bombs have struck them and drivers swerve to avoid craters where asphalt used to be. Gwadar is in Balochistan, an arid, mountainous, and vast province in Pakistan's southwest that has searing summers and harsh winters. The city, with about 90,000 people, is built on sand dunes and bordered by the Arabian Sea on three sides, at a low elevation that makes it vulnerable to climate change in a country that has already seen its share of catastrophe from it. 'It's no less than an island nation situation,' warned Gwadar-based hydrologist Pazeer Ahmed. 'Many low-lying areas in the town will be partially or completely submerged if the sea level continues to rise.' The sea, once a blessing for Gwadar's fishing and domestic tourism sectors, has become an existential threat to lives and livelihoods. Warming oceans mean bigger and more powerful waves, and those waves get whipped higher by summer monsoon winds. Warmer air holds more moisture — about 7% more per degree Celsius (4% per degree Fahrenheit) — and that means more big rain events. 'Waves have become more violent due to the rising sea temperatures and eroded beaches,' said Abdul Rahim, deputy environment director at Gwadar Development Authority. 'The tidal actions and patterns have changed. Hundreds of homes have been washed away. It is very alarming.' Melting glaciers contribute to rising sea levels, another cause of coastal erosion. The sea level at Karachi rose almost 8 inches (almost 20 centimeters) between 1916 and 2016, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. It's projected to rise another half-inch (about 1.3 centimeters) by 2040. In areas near Gwadar, like Pishukan and Ganz, waves have swallowed up mosques, schools, and settlements. There are gashes in the cliffs at the popular picnic spot of Sunset Park, and rocks have cascaded onto the shore. Beaches run flat for dozens of kilometers because no structures remain on it. Authorities have built seawalls from stone or concrete to hold back saltwater intrusion. But they're a small solution to a massive problem as Gwadar's people and businesses are fighting climate change on different fronts. Saltwater pools on government land, salt crystals glistening in the sunshine. In the Shado Band neighbourhood, former local councillor Qadir Baksh fretted about water seeping up through the ground and into his courtyard every day, held at bay only by regular pumping. Dozens of houses have the same problem, he said. Officials, including Ahmed and Rahim, said changes in land use and unauthorized building are worsening flooding. Locals said some major construction projects have destroyed traditional drainage pathways. Gwadar is the centerpiece of a massive Chinese-led initiative to create an overland route between its western Xinjiang region and the Arabian Sea through Gwadar. Hundreds of millions of dollars have poured into the town to create a deep seaport, an international airport, expressways and other infrastructure. The more sensitive projects, especially the port, are tightly secured by the Pakistani military, out of sight and off-limits to the public. But there is no proper sewage or drainage system for residents despite a decade of foreign investment, and Gwadar's porosity, high water table, rising sea levels, and heavier rainfall are rocket fuel for the town's vulnerability. There's nowhere for the water to go. 'In the past when it rained, the water disappeared up to 10 days later,' said Baksh. 'But the rain that came last year hasn't gone. The water rises from the ground with such speed it will reach the four walls of my home if we don't run the generator every day to extract it. Officials say it's because of climate change but, whatever it is, we're suffering.' Gwadar's fishing community is also hurting. Catches are smaller, native fish are disappearing, and migration patterns and fishing seasons have changed, said Ahmed and Rahim. There is also algae bloom and the invasion of unwanted marine species like pufferfish. Illegal fishing and foreign trawlers are responsible for a few of these things, but it's mostly rising sea temperatures. People have migrated from places like Dasht and Kulanch because of water scarcity. What agriculture there was in Gwadar's surrounding areas is vanishing due to loss of farmland and livestock deaths, according to locals. It's part of a wider pattern in which Pakistan's farmers are seeing declining crop yields and increasing crop diseases due to climate extremes, particularly floods, droughts and heat waves, according to the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 'There are heat waves and dust storms in Gwadar,' said Ahmed. 'But the main impact of climate change here is that there is too much water and not enough of it. If nothing is done to address this problem, we will have no option but to retreat.' ____ ___ The Associated Press' climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
