Due to rapid changes in weather patterns and environmental factors, unexpected rainfall is occurring due to changing seasons (Photo: File)
Another western system has entered Pakistan, causing rainfall in Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Due to the rapidly changing weather patterns and environmental changes, unexpected rainfall is occurring due to the changing season. The rainfall has caused power feeders to trip in multiple areas, resulting in damage to the wheat crop. Additionally, many people have lost their lives due to flooding in rivers, landslides, and lightning strikes.
While rainfall is a gift of nature for us, sometimes excessive rain can lead to flash floods in rivers and destruction of mud houses. Similarly, floods are a natural disaster that can lead to significant damage. In such disasters, the strong flow of water or a flash flood carries everything in its path, causing certain destruction wherever the flood passes.
Millions of people become homeless and estimating financial losses becomes very difficult. Floods economically devastate the country by leading to a downturn. Additionally, large-scale flood victims often experience outbreaks of various infectious diseases. Even today, the rainy season and hours of monsoon rain still change the layout of cities.
In fact, for the past few years, climate change has been occurring worldwide, affecting Pakistan as well. Now, Pakistan’s climate is becoming increasingly hot, and disasters such as drought, earthquakes, and cyclonic rains, including dry spells, earthquakes, and torrential rains, are becoming more frequent.
This climate change has directly affected agricultural production. Changes in rainfall, excessive or extreme heat, and cold are causing harm to seasons, and since our farming community is not aware of these changes in the season, they cannot protect their crops from seasonal changes. Therefore, the possibility of their hard work and earnings going to waste increases.
As temperatures increase every year, valuable human lives are lost, yet our government is failing to adopt practical measures. Experts suggest tree planting as the easiest solution to avoid climate change, but unfortunately, even the newly planted trees are being cut down alongside existing trees.
Trees along the riversides are the best and natural means of protection against floods, yet here too, in a display of short-sightedness, these trees are cut down. Every year, how many acres of agricultural land, residential buildings, livestock, and human lives fall victim to flash floods, yet we do not take protective measures against external threats.
Global warming, climate change, and changes in the region’s water and air are leading to more intense rainfall and increasing risks of floods. Once again, the risks of severe rainfall and large-scale floods due to climate change are being felt, raising the question of what practical measures the government has adopted to mitigate these potential situations.
Pakistan has faced two of the worst floods in history during the last twelve years, yet despite this devastation, no comprehensive policy or practical wisdom has been adopted at the national and international levels to address climate change and the risks it poses to the country.
Pakistan’s global carbon emissions are less than one percent, yet we are facing the consequences of natural disasters resulting from climate change. It’s a danger that Pakistan has more than seven thousand glaciers, and glaciers in the Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountain ranges are melting rapidly.
In Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, around three thousand unstable glaciers have formed, meaning that rivers formed due to the melting of glaciers can become torrents at any time. In fact, climate change cannot be stopped, but its impact can be mitigated.
We started to cut forests indiscriminately, started lifting sand from rivers recklessly, which brought brackish water back into riverbeds. Coal is commonly used in Pakistan’s brick kilns, and besides, industrial boiler stacks and especially thermal plants producing electricity are burning. Additionally, burning gas used as fuel in homes as ordinary cooking gas is also common in Pakistan.
The use of these materials causes smoke, vapors, and gases that are harmful and damaging to the environment, health, and buildings. Industrial areas often become smoky, called fog or smog, which makes it difficult to see and breathe and reduces visibility. These smoky emissions include water vapors and industrial smoke, causing smog.
For some time now, Karachi and Lahore have been experiencing burning eyes, difficulty breathing, coughing, sore throat, nose and ear diseases, and respiratory diseases, with a constant increase in allergy patients. Countless individuals have become victims of these diseases, which are gradually increasing. How these toxic gases harm our environment and health is a major concern. Instead of treating it, we are busy polluting the environment day and night.
We have initiated the disposal of gases and fumes exiting industries and factories with the aim of reducing pollution and waste, but inadequate measures have been taken on a government level, leading to water and air pollution and posing risks to human life. Many factories dispose of their industrial waste improperly, and improper planning and practical wisdom at the governmental level means this toxic material becomes a cause of many diseases in populated areas near industrial zones. One of the causes of climate change is these toxic and harmful health gases and substances, which no one pays attention to.
Urban flooding and the overflow of drainage systems and rivers are a natural response. This occurs when drainage paths are filled with water. Rivers and streams cannot adjust to excessive water caused by severe weather conditions. Subsequently, drainage paths rise above their natural or artificial banks and intrude into surrounding areas. This leads to urban flooding and flood-like situations, where human activities that harm the environment, such as lack of water for crops, deforestation, and improper waste disposal, exacerbate the issues.
To improve water management and prevent damage to the sewage system, it is necessary to undertake initiatives such as underground pipeline networks and better drainage systems in cities. The sewage system can handle a heavy amount of rainfall water separately from the sewage system if worked on adequately.
Cleaning gutters and drains is essential, and regular work on them is as necessary as providing drinking water for residents. The sewage system can be filled with wastes such as garbage, mallba, shopping bags, roots, and leaves of trees. Moreover, older, worn-out, broken, and clogged pipes and drains have a higher risk of failure, making the problem worse. Therefore, it is very important to change them before the deadline.
The government needs to implement environmental programs and projects with seriousness and consistency, all the way to their completion. Strict enforcement of approved laws for environmental protection is necessary, and amendments to laws should be made based on the current environmental situation. National environmental experts should consult with international experts to deal with climate change. If these threats are not taken seriously and timely action is not taken, we may face severe climatic events in the future.