Climate change impacts
By
Khan Faraz
According
to media reports, the impacts of climate change and global
warming are likely to be severe, pervasive and irreversible.
This has been warned in a
report of the U.N prepared by scientists and officials
meeting in Japan.
Mankind and its activities
are adversely affecting the planet.
Many of the impacts of
humanity’s polluting activities can no longer be reversed.
As pointed above, in Japan
recently, a report released by the UN’s Inter-govern- mental
Panel on climate change blamed human interference for
climate change.
The effects of which are
already occurring on world as nobody on this planet is going
to be untouched. Some impacts of climate change include a
higher risk of flooding and changes to crop yields and water
availability.
Humans may be able to adapt to some of these changes, but
only within limits.
Natural systems are currently bearing the brunt of climate
changes, but a growing impact on humans is feared. Members
of the UN’s climate panel say it provides over whelming
evidence of the scale of these effects.
The health, homes, food and safety of humans are all likely
to be threatened by rising temperatures.
While it is the developed
world that has contributed most to the global warming
through polluting activities, it is the world’s poorest
population that will suffer the most from rising
temperatures and rising seas.
The smaller, underdeveloped countries, such as Pakistan,
need to start formulating plans.
It merits a mention that this country is not adequately
equipped to handle flooding: food scarcity is already a
growing problem and glacier melt is a reality.
These issues will only intensify in the years to come.
The world as a whole needs to think green, countries that
are especially vulnerable, need to square up to the
challenge.
It merits a mention that some
500 scientists and government officials had been gathered in
Yokohama, south of Tokyo, Japan in the last week of March to
hammer its wording.
A leaked draft of the report warned that rising green house
gas emissions would significantly boost the risk of floods,
while droughts would suck many sustainable water supplies.
Also, a large fraction of land and fresh water species may
risk extinction and a warming climate is projected to reduce
wheat, rice and corn yields.
Meanwhile, hundreds of millions of coastal dwellers around
the world would be displaced by the year 2100, the draft
said while the competition for dwindling resources could
even spark violent conflicts.
Climate change has becoming a threat to Pakistan. Also,
increasing population and decreasing resources may pose
threat to our future generations.
According to media reports, the country will be facing
severe water crises in coming years. In most parts of the
urban areas, already the residents complain of water
shortage, especially in summers.
This situation will extend to the agriculture sector, the
backbone of the country’s economy. According to United
Nations, Pakistan is now gradually slipping down the water
scarcity level and is among those countries which will face
water crisis in coming years.
This situation will further aggravate with the impact of
climate change to which Pakistan is again among the most
vulnerable countries.
In view of the above, it is need of the hour to conserve our
water resources, promote prudent practices, build new water
reservoirs, exploit modern technology and explore new
resources of water.
Also the country has to take a lot of efforts and financial
compromises to deal with the impact of climate change.
It has become extremely important for the Government to
invest in sustainable agriculture and small scale farmers,
promoting the use of drought resistance varieties, alternate
farming practices and reduced cultivation of water intensive
crops in the circumstances of water scarcity and building
dams and reservoirs for water storage and mitigating the
changes of devastating floods.
April, 2014
Source:
The Frontier Post