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Increase in N application rates may eventually raise the potential groundwater N-pollution. This survey study was conducted by Soil Chemistry Section, ISCES to assess the NO3 contents of soil from 0 to 120 cm depth with different intervals. For this purpose, the soil and water samples were collected from Okara, Vehari Sialkot, Chiniot, Hafizabad, Sahiwal and Multan districts. The results showed that nitrate leaching occurred but it is only up to 2 feet soil depth. The NO3-N contents were maximum at two upper depths (i.e. 0-30 cm and 30-60 cm) and then decreased gradually downward. The highest average NO3-N content was found at 0-30 cm soil depth and the lowest were found at 90-120 cm. The data also revealed that mean NO3-N content at 0-30, 30-60, 60-90 and 90-120 cm depths were 16.85±4.05, 15.21±4.77, 9.94±3.36 and 6.54±2.62 mg kg-1, respectively, whereas NO3-N content at same depths were ranged from 11.50-26.20, 6.53-21.15, 5.24-16.12, 1.45-9.36 mg kg-1, respectively. The results regarding underground water samples (tube well) from the same sites from all the three districts showed that NO3 were found in all the water samples but it was only in traces and their concentration were not much higher to create the health hazardous problem owing to NO3 leaching. The data showed that the highest NO3 contents did not exceed than 8.61 and 10.6 ppm in Multan and Sahiwal districts respectively, which were much lower than permissible limit i.e. 50 ppm (FAO). Similarly, the nitrate content in underground water are well below the maximum admissible limit of WHO i.e. 50 mg L-1., EQA - International Journal of Environmental Quality, Vol. 50 (2022)

The Indus River Basin covers an area of around 1 million square kilometers and connects four countries: Afghanistan, China, India, and Pakistan. More than 300 million people depend to some extent on the basin's water, yet a growing population, increasing food and energy demands, climate change, and shifting monsoon patterns are exerting increasing pressure. Under these pressures, a “business as usual” (BAU) approach is no longer sustainable, and decision makers and wider stakeholders are calling for more integrated and inclusive development pathways that are in line with achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Here, we propose an integrated nexus modeling framework co-designed with regional stakeholders from the four riparian countries of the Indus River Basin and discuss challenges and opportunities for developing transformation pathways for the basin's future.

In this study, we reported valuable information on the cryosphere of the Central Karakoram National Park (CKNP, the largest protected area of Pakistan and the highest park all over the world). In fact, in addition to the glacier inventory, we also estimated the glacier volume and we modeled the amount of meltwater derived from glacier ice ablation during a 18-day summer period (23 July���9 August 2011, time window where also field melt measurements were performed thus enabling a crosscheck of the obtained results). Moreover, glacial lakes were considered as well; for these latter glacier features we also analyzed their potentially dangerous conditions. All these information are given considering the CKNP as a whole and in detail by dividing it into five basins (i.e. Shigar, Hunza, Shyok, Upper Indus and Gilgit). As regards the CKNP as a whole, 608 glaciers are found with a total area of 3682.1 �� 61.0 km2, ~35% of the CKNP area. Analyzing in detail the five basins included in the CKNP area, they reflect the overall conditions regarding glacier distribution per size class, terminus elevation, length, and thickness. The widest basin (for number of ice bodies, glacier extent and ice volume) is the Shigar basin, where the largest glaciers are present (among which Baltoro Glacier), and the smallest one is the Gilgit basin. Finally, the highest number of debris-covered glaciers is located in the Shyok basin (62 glaciers). During 18 days in summer 2011, we quantified a total water magnitude of 1.54 km3 derived from ice melting. Even if we considered a relatively short period, this water volume equals ~11% of the reservoir capacity of the Tarbela Dam. In addition to glacier information, we provided glacial lake occurrence, as these ephemeral water bodies can develop into actual glacial risk conditions, which makes it important to list them and to survey them over time. The information reported in this study would provide base for future monitoring of glacial lakes and GLOFs and for planning and prioritizing disaster mitigation efforts in the park. In fact, even if the Potentially Dangerous Glacial Lakes (PDGLs) identified in the park territory are only 2, they are located in a high vulnerable and fragile area and the recent history suggests us to survey over time these water bodies to avoid losses of human lives and destructions of villages and communities. Moreover, many other supraglacial lakes identified in the park area could develop into conditions of PDGLs thus suggesting to prosecute the lake monitoring and to develop early strategies for risk mitigations and disaster management., JUNCO | Journal of UNiversities and international development COoperation, N. 1-2 (2018): Migrazioni, Pace e Sviluppo. Nuove sfide e nuovi attori nella cooperazione internazionale per lo sviluppo in Italia - Atti del V Congresso CUCS, Milano 14-15 settembre 2017

Draft guidance on the homogenisation of climate station data of the World Meteorological Organisation.