EDITORIAL: Last week, the plains of Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan were in the grip of a scorching heatwave, caused by global warming of which Pakistan is a prime victim for none of its faults. Same was the case with many other countries; some of them being only partially responsible for global warming. But the heatwaves have hit all. For instance, the searing heatwave that scorched western Canada and the US at the end of June, according to scientists, was a one-in-a-1,000-year event. And the sudden spurts of the heatwaves produced apocalyptic flooding in Germany, China and India. And there is going to be no escape from this looming threat. A new study recently published by the journal Nature Climate Change says, “Humanity is likely to see a lot more deadly scorchers in the coming decades … We are in a period of very rapid warming and we need to prepare for more heat events that shatter previous records by large margins.” According to the study, the current rates of warming – about 0.2 degrees Celsius per decades – are likely to continue for at least another 10 to 20 years no matter how quickly humanity reduces the carbon pollution that drives global warming. These efforts of course will pay off later, but heatwaves are likely to persist on their own. It is not a question of how much temperature has arisen compared to some reference period, but rather how quickly it. “The climate currently behaves like an athlete on steroids,” marks the study.

Since Pakistan is certainly a victim of global warming the recurrent heatwaves should be its immediate concern. Not only do they precipitate extreme rainfall causing flash floods and urban flooding, they also test the country’s potential and capacity to deal with them. A sudden heatwave generates demand for uninterrupted power supply, which is quite often not on line. No wonder the people take to the streets to protest government’s failure to ensure regular supply. Equally damaging is the extreme rainfall that floods vast agricultural areas as rivers overflow their banks and cause urban flooding, paralyzing normal life in cities. Another destructive outcome of sudden surge in temperature is quick glacial melt as against the gradual melt that comes with normal summer heat. Heatwaves also cause a large number of heatstroke cases. It is also important to note that global agreements, which are said to be supported by hard science, are proving quite effective in dealing with various wide-ranging environmental threats. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has therefore raised a highly plausible question in this regard: “Can similar agreements be implemented to address the most complex risks posed by global climate change?”

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021