Emerging challenge: 'Over 1.6 billion people may face wrath of climate change'

The South Asia, the home to 1.6 billion people or about one-fourth of the world's population, fears to face in future the wrath of climate change in the shape of declining water supplies, less production of food and energy and high temperature. If timely efforts are not made to address climate change, poverty position may further aggravate in South Asia and the countries will not be in a position to make progress on Sustainable Development Goals, said Director Climate Change Centre, University of Agriculture in Peshawar, Professor Dr Muhammad Zulfiqar.
Although South Asian countries have potential to generate energy and water available for food production, climate change remains a challenge, he said while addressing the SAARC regional consultation meeting on water, energy and food nexus in Thimphu on July 4. Dr Muhammad Zulfiqar said food and water are essential for existence whereas energy is key to human development, emphasizing on sustainable management and exploitation of natural resources.
He said most of the South Asian countries depend on single source for more than 50 percent of their energy production, suggesting exploiting diversified resources for sustainability.
Giving the example of Bhutan, he said, it possesses the potential to generate 30,000 megawatt of electricity with 72 percent of the country's population already having access to electricity. Bhutan also has the potential to generate an average of four kWh/m2/day of solar energy. He noted that apart from increasing population and declining agricultural land, climate change is an emerging key challenge for food, water, and energy nexus in South Asia. He said the global increase in temperature causes shift in snow and rainfall period, such as from December and January to February, March or April.
The latter months he said have low retention capacity and the high intensity rainfall fuels floods and glacial lake outburst flood, Dr Muhammad Zulfiqar said and added with the increase in temperature, a decrease in precipitation is observed for all SAARC member countries except for Pakistan during the past century.
He further stated that less production of food and energy due to declining water supplies in the long run, high temperature causing increase in crop water requirements, energy scarcity, climate refugees due to drought, desertification and high intensity floods, are other affects of climate change. The region accounts for 59 percent of the planet's water consumption and 51 percent of the population is food and energy deficient, he informed the moot. To address climate change issues, Dr Zulfiqar recommended countries to promote energy efficient technologies and local adoption of complementary policies and investment in water, energy and food sectors as well as focus on local level adaption plan.