Lahore, December 17, 2022 (PPI-OT):Environmental expert Dr Rab Nawaz (HoD, Environmental Sciences), in conversation with The Spectacle, a UOL monthly newsletter, explained the reasons why Pakistan is facing the worst weather patterns and other hazardous effects of climate change.
According to Dr Nawaz, climate change, a long-term shift in temperature and weather patterns, is mainly due to human activities involving the burning of fossil fuels (e.g., coal, oil, and gas), which causes emissions of greenhouse gases. The emission of these gases is resulting in an increase in Pakistan’s average annual temperature by 0.9 °C in less than 42 years.
According to the German watch Climate Risk Index, Pakistan has been ranked the world’s 8th-most affected country by climate change. Pakistan is facing a variety of disasters caused by climate change, including recent floods that have significantly affected a larger number of people.
Dr Nawaz shared some factors affecting Pakistan’s climate conditions, which include deforestation, urbanisation, industrialization, agricultural activities such as the burning of crop residues, etc. Stating the tragic facts, Mr. Nawaz said that the drastic climate change has caused changes in the frequency, intensity, and distribution of rainfall, as well as the melting of glaciers, which cause floods. Climate change causes not only floods but also drought.
“Pakistan has faced recent droughts in Tharparkar and Cholistan (the deserts), the intense heat wave in southern Pakistan (Karachi), severe windstorms in Islamabad, rising incidences of landslides and glacial lake outbursts, and recent floods in most parts of the country,” he further stated. In highlighting the impact of climate change on Pakistan’s economy, health, and livelihood, Mr. Nawaz clearly mentioned that climate change has serious effects on the country’s economy, health, and people’s livelihoods.
Climate change reduces crop yield (production), affects the availability of agricultural water, causes erosion, and increases the frequency of extreme climatic events (e.g., floods, droughts). These issues will lead to food insecurity and indirectly affect the economy.
According to the expert, the impacts of climate change on health include malnutrition, the emergence of vector-borne diseases (e.g., dengue fever), and waterborne diseases. These health impacts will affect work efficiency, progress, and, ultimately, livelihood. Air pollution (e.g., smog events) might increase fatalities due to cardiovascular diseases and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.
When asked about the solutions to climate change at the individual and community levels, Dr Nawaz said that there are two options to deal with climate change: first, climate change mitigation, and second, climate change adaptation. Mitigation practices include increased public awareness, the incorporation of sustainability concepts in infrastructure and the transportation sector, increased reliance on renewable energy (e.g., solar, wind, hydropower, etc.), encouraging public transportation, and promoting the sustainable use of land and forests.
Adapting to climate change is a long-term solution to surviving and thriving in the current scenario. Examples of adaptation practices include undertaking urgent reforestation and afforestation across the country, building dams to store floodwater, harvesting rainwater, and growing suitable agricultural crops according to conditions (drought-resistant and water-tolerant).
He emphasised combating climate change at the individual level by saving energy at home, using public transport, reducing carbon footprints, and planting trees. The solutions to combat climate change at the community level include making policies and agreements on climate change, increasing social awareness of climate change, discouraging cutting down trees, and arranging programmes on climate change at the community level.
Mr. Nawaz, upon giving the advice, said that a clean environment is necessary for healthy living. Therefore, everyone should come forward and play a role in protecting the environment by promoting sustainable development by changing our patterns of environmental, social, and economic behaviour. Everyone should preserve natural capital, including natural resources and natural services, for the best interests of current and future generations.
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