Hotter than hot

Scientists have been warning about this for years, but most of us deliberately ignored all the warnings. The bleak prophecy of climate-induced destruction was always met with scepticism and ridicule – the trajectory of growth did not allow any room for warnings and afterthoughts. Now, the entire world is dealing with the irreversible and large-scale effects of climate change. Heatwaves, droughts, and warm winters have become a regular feature. According to the World Meteorological Organization, this summer has been the hottest ever recorded. August was 1.5 degrees C warmer than pre-industrial averages. From heatwaves in India and Japan to a surprisingly warm winter in Australia, the shift in the global weather patterns has been alarming. Scientists believe that a rise in temperatures is a result of El Nino, a natural phenomenon characterized as the temporary warming of some parts of the Pacific Ocean; but they also blame governments’ failure to put an end to the burning of oil, natural gas and coal, and shifting to renewable resources.

It seems that ‘the heat’ cannot reach the billionaires running multinational companies responsible for carbon emissions. And this is partially true. While extreme heatwaves bring deaths and destruction to the poor and those with scant resources, rising temperatures are nothing more than a minor convenience for the well-heeled. This is because they have enough resources and alternatives to escape themselves from the sweltering sun. The sharp divisions between the world’s haves and have-nots are more apparent in developing countries where the underprivileged rarely get any respite from the heat.

Pakistan is among those countries that have minimal resources to fight against the climate challenge, but wrong decisions by successive governments have made it even worse for the country’s people to deal with the increasingly harmful impacts of global warming. Pakistan’s exclusive reliance on international aid has also been countered by several environmental experts. While the international community should extend a helping hand to countries facing climate change, Pakistani leaders need to put their house in order. The first step is to take action against those responsible for environmental damage. Actions like trees being razed down to make way for housing societies or residential buildings being constructed on the beach are also responsible for rising temperatures. The unchecked vertical construction has also led to the sudden growth of small houses without a proper ventilation system. On top of it, the power crisis in the country leaves many households without fans for hours. At a time when the earth is literally burning, power cuts make matters even more unbearable. It is true that we need proper environmental reforms to tackle climate change and try to reverse the damage caused so far. But in the meanwhile, it is also important to take corrective measures to help people get some relief – seeing access to electricity as a human right and not as an instrument to meet tax/revenue targets, providing immediate aid to people living in areas more vulnerable to climate-caused destruction, etc. It is time all countries took these warnings seriously and saved the planet.