KARUNA SHINSHO, ASIA TONIGHT: Pakistan is considering melting glaciers to help ease its water shortage. But as David Compton reports, the danger of environmental hazards threatens to put the plan in deep freeze.</s>DAVID COMPTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pakistan's extreme water shortage is causing anti-government protests. Political and religious parties in Sindh province have been accusing the government of withholding irrigation supplies. The government denies the accusations and says it's doing all it can to solve the problem. It's even considering the radical step of melting glaciers to make more water available. The government has asked the national weather office to examine the possibility.</s>QAMAR-UZ-ZAMAN CHAUDHRY, PAKISTAN METEOROLOGICAL DEPT: We have not yet completed our study. But up to now, we have gathered that maybe it can be done by spraying some black carbon on the snow, on the glaciers. The snow and they will absorb more radiation, and the snow melt can be increased by 10 percent to 15 percent.</s>COMPTON: The glaciers have long been a major source of water for Pakistan each spring and summer during the normal melting process. But there are potential pitfalls in speeding up the rate of melting. The experts worry that it could destabilize the glaciers and cause other unforeseen problems.</s>CHAUDHRY: There are a lot of environmental hazards in this, and then there are other - besides the environmental, there are other hazards that if we destroy these natural glaciers whether they can pose any other threat like flooding in some rivers or blocking of some rivers.</s>COMPTON: A decision on the glacier project is still some time away. For now, meteorologists will continue to study their weather maps for any sign of substantial rainfall and a more natural solution to the drought problem. Unless some relief comes soon, it's possible that protests like the one in Sindh province will become more common. David Compton, CNN.
Pakistan Considers Solutions To Severe Water Shortage