Weather conditions In Pakistan are worsening as the country is under a strong, heavy and unending spell of sweltering heat waves which has restricted the activities of the common man. Immediate adverse effects of such climatic conditions have begun to cast their shadows on health and agriculture sectors of the country. For instance, a host of heat related diseases such as heat-stroke, gastro, typhoid, urinary tract infection, migraine, food poisoning and diarrhea are some of the common causes wrecking family budgets in terms of doctors’ bills. In the agriculture sector, there is a drought-like condition that has dried out the animal fodder and other crops as well. The production of dairy products has touched an all-time low due to drying out of milk by buffaloes and cows caused by the blazing heat. Milk prices have crossed Rs60 per kg for the first time in history. Pakistan is an agro-based economy which totally relies upon climatic conditions and a permanent change in them is likely to lead to a grave food crisis. Thus, the current heat waves are no longer simply an environmental concern. Instead, they have malignantly transformed into becoming a problem for every body.
Hotter summers across the country
The Met Office has predicted that most parts of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and Balochistan are experiencing abnormally hot weather due to the ongoing unusual heat wave of the current season. The mercury level in most areas has crossed 45°C and the highest maximum temp recorded was 50°C in Dadu and 42°C in Islamabad. It is feared that the present heat wave is likely to further intensify during coming days and weeks. Day temperatures are also expected to rise from 2-3°C in most parts of the country.
Met Office further states that day temperatures of northern areas are also depicting a gradual rise and warm weather is predicted for them as well during coming days. Abnormally high temperatures of northern areas may trigger large scale snow-melting during the week. Due to the melting of the snow, the flow of water in the hilly streams and local rivers of Gilgit-Baltistan and Malakand Division (especially in Gilgit, Chitral and Swat rivers) is expected to increase from mid-week. It is significant that Pakistan, as a whole, will remain hotter than usual for at least several weeks.
Experts from the United Nations (UN) and universities around the world have termed the recent extreme weather situation as a proof that global warming is already taking place. They have deduced that these dramatic weather patterns are consistent with changes in the climate caused by mankind. According to experts, these conditions intensify in a climate which has been disturbed by greenhouse gas pollution. They think that events such as the current heat wave are one of the ways in which climatic changes become dramatically visible. Scientists have warned that the odds of such extreme events are rapidly shortening and could become a norm by the middle of this century. Keeping in view the increased frequency of these kinds of summers over the recent years, they have predicted even hotter ones in the coming years.
Consequently, one has to worry about not just a long-term reduction of greenhouse gases but also about finding a solution of the crisis already dawning upon us. At the start of the industrial era, the atmosphere had about 270 parts per million of carbon dioxide. Today, it turns out to be about 360 parts per million, slowly shooting up to 450 parts per million and if we take into account the rise of greenhouse gases in the developing world as well as that of the population, it is likely to reach over 500 parts per million. The result of this statistical churn is that global greenhouse emissions are expected to rise to about nine billion tons per year by 2015, almost 50 per cent higher than those today.
Is there a solution?
The pertinent question is what we are going to do about it. Will decision makers in our country just sit around, squabble and do nothing until it’s too late? Or will we look for wider participation and take up a leadership role to not only provide food for thought but also real food on the table along with means to commence energy production from renewable sources other than hydroelectric power?
There is a simple solution for the restoring the old pattern of our natural climate. That solution is forestation which entails plantation of trees in the environment around us to absorb certain havocs created by nature. Forests around the world play a valuable role in moderating climate change. They extract about 15 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions through photosynthesis. Trees, forest soil and debris together store more carbon than the atmosphere does. Biodiversity is a prime attribute of a tropical forest closely followed by its stabilising influence on regional climate and local irrigation. Water vapours emitted from trees through evapo-transpiration stimulate rainfall whilst roots store and filter water, reducing the risks of flooding and drought. According to scientists, a tropical forest is a jewel in the crown of biosphere. No other ecosystem delivers more to enrich natural resources that support life on earth.
It is sad to note that Pakistan has a mere 2.5 per cent of forest cover with an alarming rate of deforestation. The annual rate of deforestation in Pakistan is 2.1 per cent; no Asian country has a forest degradation rate higher than this. According to a report, the largest conversions of forest land have taken place in Punjab and Sindh, corresponding to 99,711 acres and 27,874 acres respectively and this is distressing as the government continue to do so without taking notice of the hazardous effects.
Whilst dealing with these problems, the World Environment Day is observed in Pakistan every year to highlight troubles and issues pertaining to environment and how other issues such as poverty, a struggling economy and health are essentially linked to environmental degradation. This year’s theme was titled as “Forests harbour the world’s most precious natural resources and communities”. These resources are utilised in food, agriculture, medicine, clothing and other aspects as well, hence making them a critical link in the environmental chain.
We, as a nation, need to realise that forests are important in the fight against greenhouse gases which impact climate change. They absorb water and ensure that it is filtered, sustained, and gradually available for consumption. Their degradation does not only impact the forest cover ratio of a country, it also leads to practical problems of soil erosion, damaged watershed areas, leading to pollution in water bodies and endangering water availability in the long term.
In a nut shell, we can confidently say that the principal cause of climate change in Pakistan is deforestation and that of deforestation is the excessive consumption of fuel wood and timber. The cycle of change is a long term phenomenon: stop cutting down trees today and we will have milder weather conditions in the next 25 years. It is for us to decide what sort of living conditions on the planet we wish to handover to our next generation.
