Climate is referred to as the average temperature and weather conditions at a specific place over a period of 11 to 40 years in general. It is supported by a number of factors which include behaviour of winds, temperature and air pressure etc. Today climate change is directly or indirectly effected by the human activities on this planet. The various human activities effect the composition of the global atmosphere leading to abnormalities in the natural environment.
As the world is developing so there is a huge increase in industrialization, a high rate of burning of fossil fuels (e.g. gas, coal and oil) and destruction of the forest cover which is resulting in the increased level of harmful gases such as Carbon dioxide ( CO2) and carbon monoxide ( CO3) being emitted into the atmosphere. The carbon in turn covers the earth and traps the heat and hinders its emission into space causing an increase in global warming. This drastic climate change is the biggest threat to human life and it will generate profound consequences for socio-economic sectors such as food production, security, energy consumption and health etc.
Pakistan itself has very little contribution in the overall emissions of the greenhouse gases, yet it is among the names of countries which will be drastically affected by the climate change and global warming.
Floods:
Floods have had a very devastating effect on the economy of Pakistan in the former years. In the past 10 years, almost every year Pakistan had been hit by a dangerous flood. The floods of 2010 and 2011 have been the most catastrophic floods the country has ever experienced. In 2010 the lives of approximately 20 million people were affected by it. The death toll was almost 1,781 and 2,996 people were injured and the flood destroyed more than 1.89 million homes.
An increase in the frequency of cyclones:
Due to the sudden increase in global warming, the frequency of cyclones in the Arabian Sea has increased during the last half century. The intensity of these cyclones has also drastically become rather intense in the last quarter of the 20th century. Strong tropical activity in the Arabian Sea has been witnessed in 2001, 2004, 2007, 2010 and 2011 showing an increase trend towards more intense cyclones. This clearly indicates that there are very high chances that the future cyclones are going to be even more dangerous and cause havoc in cities such as Karachi and kill thousands of people. It might also change the way of life of these cities.
Droughts
For the last many years Pakistan has been facing a very fatal drought situation particularly in the province of Baluchistan and Sindh. The drought in these areas has caused a decrease in the river flows, causing the irrigation canals to dry up leading to severe agriculture deprivation. Droughts have also been held responsible for causing huge losses to poultry and other animals resulting in a general deficiency of food and water for people. The high temperature caused by the increase in greenhouse gases and the mismanagement of the water reservoirs need to be blamed for this drought situation.
Conclusion
The climate catastrophe will not end soon or die down. Many research studies have explained that these changing weather patterns will be the foundation for even more fatal and intense droughts and heat waves. Meanwhile, intense precipitation events will become more frequent and the tropical cyclones will become stronger.
Immediate steps have to be taken to counter these problems and steps will have to be taken to uproot the cause of these events. Plus flood and drought prevention policies have to be worked out and steps for the reduced emission of greenhouse gases have to be taken so that the human life can be preserved.
