It goes without saying that life cannot survive on the earth without the desired heat, recognize as the positive factor of Global warming, but the heat behind one’s capacity is no less than a danger zone for existing life on such a green planet. It is true that millions of people are already suffering from the catastrophic effects of extreme weather disasters as a result of climate change. It includes prolonged drought in sub-Saharan Africa, and devastating tropical storms in Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and the Pacific. Climate change is one of the most important global environmental challenges facing humanity. Since 2022, April, South Asian nations including Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh have been experiencing an unpredictable heat wave that has seen some areas touch 50°C (104°F).
Climate change is a long-term shift in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural. However, since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driving force of climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. It has contributed to increasing heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in the Earth’s atmosphere.
As of 2023, alarming bells ring around the increasingly hot weather, as a ramification of climate change and global warming. In the South Asian States, particularly developing countries like Pakistan which mainly comprises dry or cold areas with low production potential. It has severely implicated food production, natural ecosystems, and freshwater supply. The harmful impacts of climate change have manifested themselves around the world in the form of extreme weather. Events like storms, cyclones, floods, and droughts are the glaring outcome of such menace.
Woefully, Pakistan has been hit hard by the implication of climate change which has been changing at an alarming rate. It is another looming thread besides economic turmoil and population bomb for struggling county like Pakistan, a poor state on the map of the Asian continent. According to climatepromise.undp.org, Pakistan stood at 146 in the Climate Vulnerability Index ranking. It has been ranked in the top ten of the countries, most affected by climate change in the past 20 years. Between 2000 and 2019, the Germany-based organization ranked Pakistan as the 8th most affected country.
The Scorching temperatures, especially during the period of the last five years i.e., 2018 to 2022, have caused deadly heat waves which are record-breaking; it is severely impacting the daily lives of nearly a billion people. The affected countries include India, Croatia, Portugal, Spain, France, China, and North Africa. The UK witnessed its hottest year on record in 2022, according to the national weather service. Its average annual temperature was 10.03 degrees Celsius last year, breaking 10°C for the first time, and the highest since records began in 1884. The 2022 average was 0.89°C above the 1991 to 2020 averages, and 0.15°C above the previous hottest year 2014. These 10 warmest years have occurred after 2003.
In 2023, Pakistan is also under the deadly cloud of such a Worrisome Heatwave. The Severe Flooding and very limited access to adequate food is the life-threading consequence of such a warm wave. The bad news for the country floating on news channels is early summer in February. However, the highest temperatures were recorded in March-May of 2022 as reported by the renowned Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) that the summers in Pakistan will start as early as February. The people will forget the ongoing chilling weather and welcome the early beginning of summer in the country. The average temperatures will be between 20°C and 29 C °.
The onset of summer will be sooner than usual due to the impacts of climate change. There will be a decline in average rainfall during Feb-April with a chance of heat waves in the plains. The wave will hit Punjab, particularly Lahore in February. The maximum temperature in summer’s sizzling weather can hit 45 degrees Celsius in the hot regions due to less rainfall. It is an open secret that May is extremely high, between 28°C and hot as 36°C . Climate change will have an impact on the country’s environment and population.
Furthermore, Acceding to Scientists, these heat waves are linked to the climate crisis. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that the frequency of such severe heat waves is likely to increase in the future in the region. One of the most alarming effects of the “torrid” heat wave is the accelerated melting of Pakistan’s glaciers in the north.
Climate change has left no stone unturned in impacting the County. According to studies carried out, Pakistan’s 22.8 percent area and 49.6 percent population are at risk due to its impact. The recent floods of August 2010 owing to the collapse of the pocket of monsoon rains in Wazirastan and Northern Areas and the tormenting rains of 2022 have hit hard the country which caused colossal losses to dwindle the economy and agriculture sector. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) gave statistics that hundreds of kilometers of roads, railway lines, tubewells, crops, electricity transmitters, bridges, cattle, houses, and schools have been damaged. Furthermore, more than 400 children are missing; eight hundred thousand people remain stranded in flood waters. It is the exemplary result of climate change. Pakistan is vulnerable to the effects of climate change which has occurred due to rapid industrialization with substantial geopolitical consequences. The country is at a crossroads for a much warmer world.
Moreover, the most serious threat from climate change in Asia is freshwater availability which is to decline especially in large river basins. It will adversely affect more than a billion people by the year 2050. Pakistan receives around 80% of water in the Indus Basin System from the melting of glaciers and snow melting. The rise in temperature would interact with the availability of flows. The Water and Power Development Agency (WAPDA) stated that more water was likely to be available in the earlier periods and now it is less in the volume of glaciers and less snowfall. The per capita surface water availability plunged from 5260 m3 per year in 1951 to just 1000 m3 in 2008. It is saddening to learn that a decrease in average river flows has serious implications for agricultural production; as 93% of fresh water is used for irrigated agriculture.
It is true that Pakistan is an agrarian state. A large chunk of its economy solely depends on the agriculture sector. The country is more susceptible to the effects of changing climate because of its agrarian base and high dependency on natural resources for livelihoods. As a result of weather changes, it would make changes in cropping and productivity. High temperatures may shorten the Rabi crop growing season’s length in Sindh and Punjab. It will ultimately affect the poor rural communities of the country.
Not last but least, the health sector is not excluded from the bad impact of Heat waves. As a result of drastic climate change, it would welcome many diseases such as malaria, dengue, cholera, and other chronic health issues. These are known to be sensitive to climatic factors. The warmer weather facilitates a more favorable environment for mosquitoes and another disease-carrying pests. An increase in the epidemic potential of 12-27 percent for malaria and 31-47 percent for dengue is anticipated as a consequence of climate change scenarios.
For tackling and mitigating the raising adverse consequences of a heat wave as an outcome of the worst climate change in the contemporary era of the 21st century, the government of Pakistan has made headways such as ensuring the improvement in technological responses using early warning systems, enhancing the disaster preparedness climate change resilience using information systems and by improving forest management and biodiversity conservation.
Not last but least, the list goes on, Ten Billion Tree Tsunami Programme, with a project cost of Rs. 125.184 billion, has been initiated by the incumbent government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; it aimed at planting 10 Billion Tree across the country to revive the Forest and Wildlife resources and improve the overall conservation of the existing Protected Areas in the country. In addition to it, The World Meteorological Organization will introduce a two-tier approach for maintaining the operational needs for up-to-date climate information. Pakistan also made efforts for arranging International Conference on Climate Resilient Pakistan 2023 which went successful on 9 January 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland.
In a nutshell, for getting rid of rising heat wave day to day and cope with the threat of climate change, it is the need of the hour for developing countries like Pakistan to take more drastic measures in an efficient manner. The country must shift to 60% renewable energy, and 30% electric vehicles by 2030 and ban coal imports as well as expand nature-based solutions. The incumbent government must focus on providing subsidies to the common man for purchasing eco-friendly solar panels for renewable energy consumption at the domestic level besides shifting climate preference to ecological preservation. It is the right time to chalk out effective national energy and industrial policies for climate mitigation by reducing or avoiding GHG emissions. It is high time, every common citizen involved in fighting climate change worked together by sharing climate change solutions besides increasing greenery in their neighboring areas.
It is time for world members to rub shoulders for worldwide collaboration in climate action. There is a dire need of Promoting scientific research and technological development in key areas of climate change and Global Adaptation under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Population planning must be considered in human development-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to reduce the production of all greenhouse gases through human activities. In addition to it, extensive tree plantation should not be ignored at any cost to reduce carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. It is high time for rich countries in North America and Europe to step up and help at the global level.
