ISLAMABAD:
A parliamentary panel on Tuesday was informed that there is a 90% chance of the heatwave appearing again in Pakistan, next year.
According to Climate Change Ministry’s Secretary Arif Ahmed Khan, in response to member Imran Zafar Laghari’s allegation that the government was not informed by the ministry in advance of the weather tragedy, the NA Standing Committee on Climate change was informed of the prediction.
Laghari said that it was also the responsibility of the Ministry of Climate Change to issue early warning about the severe heatwave.
The heatwave is said to have claimed more than 1,000 lives this year in Karachi and some parts of Sindh. In response to this Khan replied that Pakistan was in the list of countries vulnerable to climate change. Many such extreme weather events were expected to hit the country.
“If we sum up the total amount per year then it means Pakistan faces a loss of Rs365 billion yearly. This is a huge amount that could easily be saved through proper planning and implementation,” he said.