Effects of climate change

Climate change is a global issue and even though developing countries like Pakistan are least responsible for global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – Pakistan currently contributes to less than one per cent of GHG – its effects on such countries are devastating, pushing lives into near extinction. The floods of 2010, 2011 and 2012 that inflicted severe damage not only incurred human cost but also an economic one, resulting in an economic growth on average at a rate of 2.9 per cent instead of its potential rate of 6.5 per cent. These floods were one of the many ways Pakistan has been affected by the global climate change. The country’s geographical and socioeconomic fragility puts it in a vulnerable situation.

Weather conditions of not only Pakistan but also South Asia have become extremely volatile. A new study by researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology corroborates this. According to the research which is based on computer simulations, the impact of climate change in the South Asian region by 2100 will make it impossible for human survival. The heatwave of 2015 that caused the deaths of about 2,000 people in Pakistan alone can become a frequent occurrence if changes at the policy level aren’t made immediately. Currently, Pakistan ranks seventh in the 10 countries that are the worst affected by climate change.

In the past two decades, Pakistan has suffered from over 130 events due to climate change – floods, droughts and heatwaves in various parts of the country. On top of that its technical and financial capacity isn’t enough to tackle the adverse impacts. Limited approach by the government to ensure clean energy can worsen the situation, especially when Pakistan is already hit with an ongoing water crisis which is expected to get much worse soon. Extreme climate conditions leading to lower agricultural outputs in the country call for urgent adaptation reforms to counter the adverse effects of climate change.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 7^th, 2017.

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