KARACHI:
Multan is one of Pakistan’s hottest cities, with temperatures regularly crossing 44°C in peak summer. The city is merely responding to climate events rather than preventing them.
Tree cover is one of the cheapest and most effective tools against urban heat. Multan’s rapid growth has come at the expense of shaded streets and green spaces, particularly in older, low-income communities, already bearing the brunt of the heat. Areas with denser tree canopy can see much cooler street temperatures than concrete and asphalt zones nearby.
Multan needs tree planting and maintenance programmes at the district level. Trees should be planted at public spaces, bus-stops, marketplaces, etc. Cold water points during heat alerts would also help temporarily, though not addressing the problem of a city losing its natural cooling network.
Multan’s citizens deserve more than seasonal advice to “stay hydrated”. They deserve a city designed to be liveable in the summers it already knows are coming.
Mahnoor Adnan
Multan
