ISLAMABAD: International Mountain Day was observed worldwide on Saturday as part of the campaigns launched by the national governments to raise awareness to highlight the importance of preserving the beauty of mountains across the world.

This year’s International Mountain Day was themed, “Sustainable Mountain Tourism.”

Addressing a related ceremony here, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said the average temperature is increasing at a doubled rate in Pakistan, compared to the rest of the world due to the geology of the region. “Due to an inclined terrain and topography of the country, whatever natural calamity occurs in the north, it gets shifted to the entire country,” he added.

He warned that floods caused by glacial lakes have increased five times during the past three years due to enormous global warming increase.

Under the second phase of the Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF-II) project, proper data of melting glaciers is being received and helping out in initiating informed decisions for disaster mitigation and adaptation, Aslam said.

The GLOF phenomenon, he said, is forced upon the country due to environmental degradation as 70 per cent of infrastructure used to get damaged due to glacial flooding and hurricanes like extreme weather events.

“The expansion of national parks in the northern areas along with a high-altitude corridor linking all national parks at 14,000 feet would allow nature to be a bulwark to climate change,” the SAPM added.

A panel discussion was also organised where the SAPM and others presented their views.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021