Climate worries

While Pakistan is not a major commercial producer of carbon emissions, it is one of the countries that most acutely feels the threat of climate change. It has been noted by meteorological experts from Pakistan and other countries that during the last 20 years, the frequency of cyclones developing in the Arabian Sea has grown by 10 percent. There is also apprehension that there could be a further rise in these numbers, while at the same time the increase in sea waters and their temperature means that there is a greater influx of water into land areas, threatening the ecosystem along the coastal belt, including mangrove swamps and other delicate structures. Agricultural lands along the 1000-kilometre coast that stretches from Sindh to Makran are also at risk as are people who could have no option but to migrate if the threat becomes too large.

Many of us will remember the terrible impact of the 2004 South East Asian Tsunami which killed people across the region and destroyed lands. The impact of that natural disaster is a reminder of what nature can inflict on humanity. It is therefore necessary, as experts warn, that Pakistan discuss climate change and what it can do to reduce the temperatures of the sea over the coming years. There are, of course, limited steps that Pakistan can take on its own. But it must work with the world to try and persuade each and every country that climate change is a very real threat to people around the globe. Rising sea levels already threaten countries such as the Maldives, and Pakistan could face a somewhat similar situation if it is not able to curb the inflows from the sea. One step that could help in this is to ensure that water flow downstream of the Indus increases, so the Indus delta is again revived and can play its vital role in holding back the sea at least in the areas where it has force and influence over the terrain. Other measures to deal with rising sea temperatures must also be debated and discussed with all the communities that could be affected, so that measures to avert the worst suffering can be put in place and at the same time more efforts made to hold back climate change.

Pakistan marked World Environment Day early in June this year, along with the UN. Various initiatives undertaken by the current government show that the country is indeed concerned about the issue of global warming and climate change and what it holds for the future. The next step would have to be action and measures to save a fragile ecosystem which is also a source of income for fisherfolk and others who live along the coastal belt. It is vital for Pakistan to act now, before disaster strikes and before there is a situation that we cannot hold back.