Climate change and urbanisation affect villages

Niaz Baba Jee, who hails from Lala Kalay, a village located on the outskirts of Peshawar, has spent a greater part of his 87-year old life working in the fields. However, in recent times, owing to skyrocketing fertiliser prices, erratic weather patterns and widespread conversion of agricultural land into housing societies, hundreds of farmers like Niaz have had to say goodbye to the only profession they’ve ever known.

Harking back to what he calls better times, the farmer who is now in his dotage, said that he grew up witnessing beautiful gardens adjacent to the Peshawar motorway, extending all the way from the river Kabul to the inner city. “The areas of Jhagra, Nasirpur, Lala Kalay, Armor, Akbarpura, and Chaghalpura were dotted with orchards of plums, pear, and apricot. Fruits from orchards spread over several kilometres in these areas were sold in different markets of the country. The people here had no shortage of work because of our extensive fruit trade, and the region blossomed every season,” he recalled.

Until two decades ago, when most people in villages around Peshawar lived in mud houses, Niaz said that they never felt the need for air conditioning. In the summers, they could still sleep under the sheets, with the fan on. “However, things changed when the prices of land in all four towns of Peshawar and around the city started shooting up due to which agricultural lands were made into housing societies and the green spaces were reduced. Ever since then, unscrupulous construction in the city and its outskirts has ruined Peshawar and deprived it of its greenery, due to which the city has started boiling in March, and we experience the most atrocious temperatures in the months of June and July,” Niaz said, adding that these erratic weather patterns are a sign of global warming.

According to sources, about 250 residential colonies have been set up in Peshawar alone in a short span of time. These colonies have allegedly been constructed without a NOC on what was once the lushest of vegetable and fruit orchards.

Regional Meteorological Centre’s Deputy Director Dr Fahim, who is a meteorologist by profession, while commenting on the impact of global warming, said that tempratures have risen to over 37 degrees Celcius in March. The last time the temperature in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was close to 40 degrees Celsius was in March and April of 2010. “During those years, however, the duration of hot temperature was two or three days but this time the heat was recorded to be lingering for two to three weeks. This has led to climate change, which implies a clear possibility of rising temperatures in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the next few years,” he highlighted.

Dr Asif, an expert on climate change and water who works at the University of Engineering Peshawar, believes that temperature in Pakistan should not rise above 1.5 or 2 degrees under the Paris Agreement. Seeing the current situation in Pakistan, however, the temperature is expected to rise by 5 to 6 degrees by 2028. As a result, Dr Asif warned that glaciers will melt, freshwater and groundwater bodies will shrink, and rising temperatures will increase water demand.

In addition, rising temperatures will damage crops and flooding will pose challenges such as food security. “The rapid increase in population, air pollution, poor urban planning, deforestation and reckless use of water, if left unchecked, will have serious consequences, which is why we need immediate contingency plans,” he urged.

According to K-P Environment and Forests Department Secretary Abid Majeed, an increase in forest space is crucial for maintaining temperature and wildlife. Majeed told that in view of the adverse effects of climate change, the forest protected area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has been increased from 10.22 to 15.59 per cent. “Over 58,487 acres of land in DI Khan has been included in the area marked for Conservancy. Similarly, the area for National Parks has been augmented by 199,301 acres and the wildlife sanctuary has been increased by 34,212 acres. Deforestation and increase in existing forest area is a top priority in the province,” the environment secretary told The Express Tribune, adding that all these measures have been taken in a bid to mitigate effects of climate change.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 9^th, 2022.