Falling pollution levels

Apart from debunking the claims of climate change skeptics, the pandemic has reinforced the need to introduce environmental measures that have long been absent in Pakistan. The phenomenon of climate change no longer remains a pseudo-science as irrefutable evidence from all over the world, uncovered during the pandemic, has fortified the fact that global warming has without a doubt adversely affected the climatic conditions of the world.

As metropolises world over have reported drastic positive changes in their environment, the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency in Pakistan disclosed the fact that Karachi has witnessed improved air quality and up to a 40% decrease in noise pollution during the lockdown. Data taken from 76 different locations in the city indicate a 39% reduction is the average particulate matter. Furthermore, in a recent meeting held on the occasion of the World Environment Day on Friday, experts decided to share relevant data with all stakeholders in the city including industrial and transport associations. It seems the authorities have finally realised the effects of climate change reverberates far beyond mere environmental concerns. Establishing new measures in order to curtail future consequences has become more urgent than ever. After coming to common ground on the matter, institutions within the country need to re-think existing frameworks as ideals of resilience need to be deeply embedded within our contemporary systems. This is particularly important for a country like Pakistan that witnesses the worst effects from global warming.

Climate change is not a sudden catastrophic event but rather a cataclysm that is steadily unfolding through time. It is essential that we remove the distinction created between man and nature as being two separate entities and instead merge them into a single unitary framework. There is a need for a new constitutional debate whereby a new system of politics is able to emerge that not only account for humans and societies but also nature and environments as well.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 8^th, 2020.

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