Pakistan is among the top ten countries most affected by climate change due to melting glaciers, floods, water shortages, droughts, and frequent heat waves.
Severe weather in Pakistan can multiply the risk of disaster for the poor and vulnerable sections. According to the reports, 5 million people are expected to be affected by floods between 2035 and 2044. Similarly, from 2070 to 2100, there are fears that 1 million people will be affected annually by flooding in coastal areas. On the other hand, the increase in the intensity of heat may also increase the rate of heat-related diseases and deaths among the working class living in cities. From all the above-mentioned factors, there are fears of further undernutrition among children and the feeling of deprivation among the poor, so there is an urgent need for measures to reduce these risks.
Besides, 85% of the world’s population is affected by the effects of climate change.
Severe weather incidents occur due to climate change in many regions. From the year 2000 to 2019, over 500,000 people have lost their lives and trillions of dollars have been lost in 11,000 incidents.
The world has warmed by about 1.2 degrees Celsius in the past since people started using oil, gas, and coal. The fuel is being used to power plants, transport, and heat homes. Burning these fossil fuels releases greenhouse gases that trap the solar energy.
Temperatures have doubled in mountain regions worldwide, which has led to an increase in the rate of melting of glaciers. Experts say that glacier lakes are increasing frequently due to climate change and if timely concrete measures are not taken, the situation may worsen. Therefore, it is time to take concrete steps in this regard. The government should build such engineering structures around these lakes to reduce the damage caused by them.
Pakistan throws 29 million acre-feet of water into the sea annually due to a lack of water storage facilities.
Pakistan needs three big dams like Mangla Dam to store the wasted water every year. The two largest dams in Pakistan Tarbela and Mangla are also filling up with water due to soil filling.
In Pakistan, awareness about environmental degradation is still very low which needs to be increased. Technological solutions have to be found to the problems related to climate change.
On the other hand, the government is trying to reduce the effects of climate change by planting 10 billion trees, by use of renewable energy in the country by 30%, use of solar energy for irrigation, measures to make plastics reusable, preparation of policy for electric vehicles and Other projects are also in progress.
Due to climate change,
Pakistan is suffering an annual loss of 1.3 billion dollars from natural disasters, while a report by German Watch in 2017 said that Pakistan’s annual loss due to climate change has increased to 3.8 billion dollars, Pakistan is also on the verge of destruction from a social point of view.
According to the reports, the number of children suffering from poverty and malnutrition in the country is high, while many communities and minority groups are already disadvantaged due to social, economic, political, and other reasons and the effects of climate change will have a more negative impact on these communities.
The effects of climate change may reduce the production of important food items and crops in Pakistan. It should be noted that despite being an agricultural country, this year Pakistan has had to spend a lot of foreign exchange on importing wheat, sugar, and cotton, while Pakistan already imports large quantities of edible oil, pulses, dry milk, and other commodities. In this regard, the research shows that the crops grown in the country are being severely affected by the increase in temperature and lack of water and the increase in temperature in the region from 0.5 degrees to 2 degrees Celsius will reduce their production by 8 to 10 percent.
It should be remembered that currently 42.6% of the workforce in the country is provided employment in the agriculture sector, while according to the data of 2019, the agriculture sector contributes almost half of the country’s gross national product i.e. 49.4%.
