Key points
- Floods a manifestation of climate crisis in Pakistan
- The hottest years on record: 2023, 2024
- Los Angeles wildfires are a proof of climate crisis
ISLAMABAD: “With the warming world, Pakistan stands on the losing side. The country does not contribute much to the climate crisis but is paying a lot for the ambitions of big industrialised countries,” says Najam Uddin, a United Kingdom (US)-based researcher, who is currently working on deforestation and the climate crisis in Pakistan.
The last two years exceeded on average a critical warming limit for the first time as global temperatures soar “beyond what modern humans have ever experienced”, an EU agency said Friday.
“In 2022, we saw the destruction caused by floods. Pakistan had to face, amid all the economic uncertainties, huge financial losses of around 33$b. The country is also one of the top ten countries vulnerable to the adverse effects of the climate crisis,” said Najam, while talking to this correspondent.
He further said, “I will not call it a climate change. It has become a crisis and we need to deal with it accordingly. We need to raise awareness among our people and let the world know that common people in Pakistan are paying for the wrongs of others they are completely unaware of. The first step, in this direction, would be to introduce our people to the concepts of mitigation and adaptation.”
Mitigation and adaptation
Mitigation is reducing the use of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. Adaptation is based on the concept of changing our behaviour patterns with the changing climate.
However, according to Copernicus Climate Change Service, it does not mean the 1.5C target, agreed upon in the Paris Climate Agreement, is no longer achievable, but it is a dangerous development.
The United Nations (UN) chief António Guterres termed the recent run of temperature records as a “climate breakdown”.
He further said, “We must exit this road to ruin – and we have no time to lose.”
We cannot forget about climate change, because of other crises.
As we continue addressing the very serious wars happening in the world, we must also remember that the climate emergency remains an existential threat that we must tackle at the same time. pic.twitter.com/ppm47VK4fE
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) December 6, 2023
In his novel, The Ministry for the Future, American author Kim Stanley Robinson explains the devastating and ever-increasing catastrophic consequences of the climate crisis in India and Pakistan. In a devastating heatwave, around eight million died across the Indo-Gangetic plain, comprising parts of Pakistan and India, the author describes in his novel.
“The fictional portrayal, in this novel, calls for the urgent need for climate action in South Asia in general and Pakistan specifically. Everyone saw and knows that Pakistan faces practical challenges due to rising temperatures, glacial melt, and increased frequency of natural disasters,” says Najam Uddin.
Hottest year
Moreover, according to AFP, the EU monitor confirmed that 2024 was the hottest year on record. It surpassed 2023 and extended a streak of extraordinary heat that fuelled climate extremes on all continents.
The current year, 2025, is not expected to the record-breaking in terms of increasing temperatures as countries are struggling to meet their carbon emissions reduction targets.
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But the UK weather service predicts 2025 will still rank among the top three warmest years in the history books.
This excess heat supercharges extreme weather, and 2024 saw countries from Spain to Kenya, the United States, and Nepal hit by disasters that cost more than $300 billion by some estimates, according to AFP.
Los Angeles fires
Los Angeles is battling deadly wildfires that have destroyed thousands of buildings and forced tens of thousands to flee their homes. US President Joe Biden said the fires were the most “devastating” to hit California and was proof that “climate change is real”.
At present levels, human-driven climate change is already making droughts, storms, floods, and heatwaves more frequent and intense.
“The future is in our hands — swift and decisive action can still alter the trajectory of our future climate,” said Copernicus climate director Carlo Buontempo.
Nations agreed to transition away from fossil fuels at a UN summit in 2023 but the latest meeting in November struggled to make any progress around how to make deeper reductions to heat-trapping emissions. – With input from AFP
