Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Romina Khurshid Alam on Thursday said almost 26 districts in Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan were severely affected by heatwave that would surge in three spells in the summers ahead.
Addressing a joint press conference flanked by National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)’s Member Disaster Risk Reduction, Idrees Mahsud and technical expert Dr Tayyab, the PMs aide mentioned that elaborate guidelines and early warnings with detailed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to cope with the above normal high temperatures posing serious threat to human lives and ecology around.
Romina said Pakistan was facing severe heatwave and it was the first spell of simmering temperature rise that would continue in three waves starting from the prevalent May 22-30, the second from June 7-8 and the third to be in the last week of June.
The PM’s aide commented that the heatwaves were more a man-made crisis than a natural hazard as it was spiking up in the areas with less green cover, excessive unsustainable and environment damaging anthropogenic activities.
She said the global warming was impacting the entire world and heatwave was on of its offshoots that had gripped our region, whereas well-prepared heatwave guidelines were shared repeatedly through electronic, print and social media.
“Public must avoid unnecessary outdoor visits especially children, elderly and people suffering from serious illnesses,” she urged.
The NDMA, she said being a national body was mostly working on early warnings and coordinating with the provincial departments on various natural disasters and calamities faced by the country.
The Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordiantion was observing all mechanisms on routine basis as heatwave that used to be a slow-onset event had expedited alongwith abruptly changing weather patterns like erratic monsoon rainfalls, she added.
She underlined that with the beginning of heatwave phenomenon the glaciers of the country were rapidly melting, whereas the risk of glaring forest fires had also increased.
Romina mentioned that she was monitoring the entire situation on the directives of the Prime Minister who was very much keen on enhancing the country’s climate and disaster resilience.
She requested the general public to observe extreme care while entering national parks and green areas and avoid throwing cigarette butts and inflammable materials like match sticks that could erupt infernos on mass scale.
The PM aide mentioned that the Ministry of Climate Change and Capital Development Authority (CDA) teams had successfully put out forest fire recently in the Margallas.
“Lighter, perfume and other inflammable materials should not be left in cars under sun and keep windows of the vehicles slightly open to avoid any untoward situation due to rising temperatures. The workers or labourers working at different sites should be provided water as it is extremely hot and unusual situation that could lead to serious emergency,” she urged the masses.
She commended that the early warning system of the NDMA under its National Emergencies Operation Center (NEOC) was the strongest in the world and it provided 24/7 data that guides the national and provincial entities and the general public at large.
Technical expert, Dr Tayyab from NDMA informed that global climate transition left Pakistan as the fifth most vulnerable country due to climate change.
The NDMA had developed first ever disaster calendar of the country with six months projections of summers and winters projecting separate natural calamities, he added.
He mentioned that January and February this year observed rainfall below normal and below normal snowfall, whereas erratic rainfall happened in April that occurred in other countries as well and also the torrential rains that pounded Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan provinces.
He mentioned that the NEOC had developed the complete guidelines of heatwave that projected extreme prevalence of rising temperature impacts in the plains of South Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan namely Umerkot, Tharparkar, Tando Allah Yar, Mitiari, Sanghar, Dadu, Jacobabad, Badin, Ghotki, Sukkur, Khairpur, Kashmore, Kachi, Lehri, Jhal Magsi, Lasbela, Bhawalpur, Rahimyar Khan, Lahore, Multan, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Sheikhupura, Rajanpur, and Lodhran.
He highlighted that water stress was one of the major issues during heatwave as water consumption increased during heatwave as continuous water consumption required to avoid dehydration.
However, drought was another disaster linked to heatwave as groundwater aquifers depletion impact human life and agriculture whereas Tharparkar and Jacobabad were facing mild drought situations that could also trigger agricultural drought, he added.
Responding to media queries, Romina Khurshid said the Prime Minister had formed a high level joint committee under his leadership that was in liaison with all the relevant authorities to keep the national forum abreast of prevailing climate catastrophes.
Replying to APP, Member, DRR, NDMA, Idrees Mahsud said that in-time preparedness, information sharing and awareness were the basics of disaster management and therefore an android mobile application was under preparation that would be accessible to general public and media for all alerts, advisories, plans and SOPs on disasters.
