Weather station in Sanghar to monitor climate change effects

HYDERABAD: Pakistan Meteorology Department director general Ghulam Rasool has announced to establish fully-equipped weather station in Sanghar district within next three months to monitor the effects of extreme weather and climate change, a communiqué  said on Tuesday.

The director general was speaking at a two-day consultative event held in Islamabad, which attracted representatives of Sanghar district's different departments, district administrator (deputy commissioner), revenue, academia, local environmentalists and national level authorities to discuss the vulnerability of areas and find solutions.

Research and Development Foundation (RDF) organised the event with the exposure visit on climate change for the senior government officials of district Sanghar in collaboration with Pakistan Meteorological Department. The event aimed at sensitising district government authorities to strengthen coordination and deal with the natural calamities in the district, which has been declared prone to disaster.

The DG said they were already working to facilitate the government departments and relevant institutions to minimise the losses incur due to harsh weather conditions.  He described climate risks and vulnerability, saying Pakistan is among top countries in the world, which are vulnerable to climate induced threats.

Rasool said that there is immense need of awareness on climate change in the country. New threats are yet to be witnessed from the climate change, he added. This issue cannot be tackled alone, as its magnitude is wide and affects many sectors.

Following the announcement, Sanghar deputy commissioner Zohaib Mushtaq said that they will provide piece of land at suitable place in the district to establish the station. Sanghar district is leading in production of cotton in the country.

The crop is highly vulnerable to face impacts of weather. Even a small amount of shower usually caused damages to the entire standing crops of cotton in the district. Thus, there is a need of meteorological station in district to educate farmers, the DC added.

They have launched early warning system in the district with cellular network coverage, in order to spread early warning advisories to majority of communities and district officials.

This would help reduce disaster impacts. The stations will record atmospheric temperature, soil temperature, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, rainfall and atmospheric pressure to help government and its partners follow emerging weather patterns and plan against disasters.

Ashfaq Soomro, executive director of RDF, who has wide exposure of witnessing climate emergencies in the world nations, said: “We cannot underestimate the climate change, as it has had adverse effects on the people here.”

The weather station will help all the stakeholders monitor the effects and keep the authorities stay alert at times. He extended the hope, saying: “This weather installation will help us prepare well against the natural disasters.”

The district authorities have endorsed the step and said they will facilitate for establishing the weather station, which could be helpful for all the communities, growers, herders and government officials to cope with the emergencies effectively.