ISLAMABAD, JULY16: In order to preserve people’s lives and means of subsistence, speakers at a symposium on the difficulties Pakistan faces due to its quickly expanding population and swiftly shifting weather patterns urged the government to declare a “climate emergency.”
Global Awareness and Empowerment Network and the Karachi Press Club’s Skills Development Committee collaborated to organize the event.The speakers expressed their worries about the severe weather patterns the nation has been seeing recently, which have caused terrible losses. They claimed that the issue has gotten worse due to exponential population expansion.
Chief Meteorologist Dr. Sardar Sarfaraz stated, “Global temperature has risen by 1.5 degrees Celsius in 150 years and it’s feared that the temperature will further increase.” He also mentioned that the world’s rapid warming has severely disrupted seasonal weather systems, accelerating glacier melting and raising sea levels.
Regarding Pakistan, he stated that the country’s severely reduced green cover was one of the main causes of the extreme heat.Pakistan’s rapid growth rate placed it among the top eight nations that are most vulnerable to climate change between 2019 and 2000. However, if we gather statistics over the previous four years regarding the country’s devastation caused by climate change, it would be among the top four nations most impacted by weather change, he said.
Along with expressing concern over the nation’s high emissions of greenhouse gases and poor air quality, Dr. Sarfaraz emphasized the need for both immediate and long-term solutions to these issues. According to Yasir Hussain of the Climate Action Center, if remedial action is not taken, the issue may get worse, especially in Karachi, where it is anticipated that there will be more extreme temperatures in the upcoming years.
He emphasized the necessity of moving away from coal as a source of energy and the harm it causes to the environment. He stated that the city of Karachi was in dire need of actions to preserve the current green areas and plant more trees that would act as a natural defense against severe weather. The speakers called on the government to work with all relevant parties to confront the climate change emergency, guarantee food security, and safeguard people’s lives and means of subsistence.
They also discussed how bringing about a major shift in the environment could be aided by good changes in both individual and society mindsets.Speakers included distinguished environmentalist Naeem Quraishi, social campaigner Mehnaz Rehman, director of the department of social welfare Saeeda Sheikh, and representatives of the KPC, Shoaib Ahmed and Saqib Sagheer.
