Ahmed Ali
With every passing year, the globalised world where technology and industries are on a rapid progression, there is a very harsh yet realistic drawback which is often overshadowed by the economic and political gains, affecting the environment drastically. Being a developing country, many economic, environmental, and political challenges are being faced by Pakistan. But is it actually inevitable? The lack of resources and economic stability in Pakistan has led the government to act upon the economic issues of the country, neglecting the environmental issues like climate change, deforestation, and other natural disasters including floods, droughts, scarcity, etc.
Are Humans the only victim?
The adverse effects of climate change are not just consolidated to human lives, in fact there are thousands of other species sharing this land with humans. This change has sorely caused deaths of livestock in the rural areas of Sindh, and other relatively warmer areas of the country. The lack of resources has led to a devastating situation like deaths due to scarcity, drought, and other medical conditions like heat stroke among people living in such areas.
The problems caused by climate change are entitled to have a long list of such catastrophic outcomes, that not only affect humans, but other living organisms like animals, birds, etc. in order to survive in the world, people and animals need a very specific range of temperature that would help them survive. But the recent developments in the country, that have caused deforestation, destroying plants and trees despite mega-projects is a problem that can lead to some very serious consequences.
The scarcity of natural resources that are consumed by every living species can result in deaths, like the situation in the remote areas of Sindh and Punjab. Besides having extremely potent waterways, the result of poor water control has caused a huge percentage of water to be added to the Arabian ocean, without utilising it for life-full means.
Climate Change – A Slow Poison?
Regardless of the factors involved to cause climate change, it is still one of the most important, yet overlooked challenges faced by the modern world. It is because of the gradual variation that is foreseen in the temperature every year. The modern and once called “green cities” of Pakistan are now becoming one of the hotspots for the deaths and issues caused by climate change.
The gradual increase in deaths caused by heat stroke in Pakistan, is a very alarming situation for the provincial and federal governments. Then what could be the possible reason why this issue is still one of the least discussed ones on the national forum, by politicians, government, etc?
The change in climate is a very slow and steady incline in the graph that has the tendency to be overlooked by many. Yet, there are many experts who believe that it is not too late to act upon.
Evolution of Climate Change
The climate of Pakistan has evolved over the past couple of decades. The initiation of drastic change in climate has never been on such a rise in the 21st century, according to the German Watch, Pakistan has been ranked in top 10 most affected countries due to climate change in the global order. Being a country with minimum resources and an unstable economy, the coming years of Pakistan can be very crucial for Pakistan in terms of environment. The constant meltdown of glaciers, due to increased climate can be threatening for the agriculture of Pakistan. This meltdown of northern glaciers have increased over the last couple of years, as the average climate of rural and urban areas of Pakistan have drastically increased.
Taking example of the federal territory of Pakistan, the average climate in the current month has surpassed the previous year’s figures. Which is something becoming evident with every passing year.
The Journey Of Hope
Being among the nations who have survived the outbreak of global pandemic in 2019, Pakistan has the tendency to fight against the natural disasters. The answers to what will stop this climate change. Is somewhere hidden in nature itself. Plantation of trees, but with proper survival can counter the heat and environmental harm caused by industrialisation. Whereas the responsible government sector must address the issue of improper disposal of possibly harmful waste materials.
The industries situated near the urban areas should be given proper access to the disposal of waste materials through environmental-friendly methods.
