Lahooti Melo 5 gearing up to talk about climate change

The event will take place on January 10, 11 and 12 2020

Every year, Saif Samejo and his team bring forth the Lahooti Melo. Last year, the two-day event focused on the #MeToo movement and women empowerment, in general. This year, they're trying to bring awareness about another much debated-upon topic: climate change.

But why climate change? "According to the global climate rate index, Pakistan is among 10 countries most affected by climate change," one of the founders of Lahooti Melo, Sana Khoja, told The Express Tribune.



"Every year, large numbers of people are dying or getting seriously ill due to heatwaves. Feeding the growing population will be a challenge as the melting of glaciers and higher water evaporation rates caused by hotter temperatures will mean less irrigated water and smaller harvests of staples such as wheat and rice."

Sana added, "Pakistan has faced flood, cyclones, earthquakes and droughts that have killed thousands of people. Karachi is also close to the Indus River delta, where Indus flows into Arabian Sea. Due to rising sea levels, the delta is now almost at level with the sea. This threatens the stability of the ecosystem, creating an inhospitable environment for aquatic creatures and mangrove trees that depend on fresh water."

PHOTO: EXPRESS

She continued, "Indigenous people are hit the hardest by climate change. It has taken a toll on the traditional way of life, for instance, cultivation, which was dependent on rainfall. It’s a threat to their cultural survival as well."

Talking about why the team chose climate change as this year's theme, Sana shared, "The art has a leading role to play in tackling climate change. It has the power to delight and educate people on this issue."

She concluded, "Artists, through their poetry, music and dance, could create awareness of such issues. We could start it from simple things like telling people the hazards of throwing plastic bags into the sea. The small messages would help create the sense of realisation through arts."

Lahooti Melo will take place on January 10, 11 and 12 next year.

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