PhD workshop: ‘Pollution is the biggest climate change threat in Pakistan’

Speakers say govts should make consolidated efforts to combat climate change.

FAISALABAD: Climate change will lead to extreme temperatures, causing flooding in some areas and drought in others, said experts at the International Centre for Development and Decent Work (ICDD) PhD Workshop on Monday.

The workshop is being held at the University of Agriculture Faisalabad and is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Programme.

Scientists from eight countries are participating in the workshop.

The speakers said extreme temperatures would cause death and destruction if effective mitigation and adaptation efforts were not made.

University of Agriculture Faisalabad Vice Chancellor Iqrar Ahmad Khan said efforts should be made to promote resilient crop to deal with food insecurity.

He said climate change would impact agricultural productivity and aggravate poverty and food insecurity.

Christian Mollmann from University of Kassel, Germany, urged scientists to come up with innovative solutions to tackle climate change.

He said impact of increasing mercury levels, melting glaciers and damage to the ozone layer was beginning to manifest though food insecurity and reduced income of farmers. He said governments should make consolidated efforts to sustain populations in the face of a hostile planet.

Dr Izhar Ahmad said the people were increasingly becoming aware of the impact of environmental degradation.

“In Pakistan, air, water and land pollution are the greatest challenges,” he said.

UAF Office of Research Innovation and Commercialisation Director Asif Ali said Asia had experienced the worst climate-related disasters in the previous decade.

He said it was time to find the solutions to these issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 21^st, 2015.