A.M. Khan
This year must be a clarion call for every saner mind to rewind the lifestyle which adds to accelerate change in climate and increasing warming in Chitral. It was first time like cities warming was witnessed in Chitral and it still continues in the area. The month of June and July with first two weeks of August happened to be the period of summer normal warming which has dramatically changed to a new pattern of summer heat.
After 15th August, which has traditionally been considered the end of summer and the return of cold in the area but there is still the heat with new winds brewing which has alarmed life in this mountainous zone.
On Saturday, two locals discussed the weather events in the country generally, in KP province and Gilgit Baltistan particularly. Summarily, one of them was adamant to accept the change in climate and warming pattern, and became judgmental during the discussion. In other words, there is still the mindset which links deviation from true path brings such devastation and floods while completely rejecting nature’s payback.
Understanding one’s carbon footprints and acting on building green ecosystem appears to be a far cry given the mindset in a segment of society. Unless the awareness and understanding reaches out to everyone that brings meaningful change with action from society is a challenge we are encountering with today. We can’t bring down the warming and adverse climatic conditions without the institutional support from governments and industry with impactful change.
The fact that we are losing green shields with accelerated pace, and the current trend in Chitral is reportedly at 23pc. The loss of forest cover has created bare grounds in uplands heating up much faster which lead to ‘heat pump’ effect. This brings about cloudburst, increasing glacial melt and GLOF events.The biggest lever is the energy transformation from fossil fuel to clean energy. In the context of Chitral to protect existing forest cover transition to solar and hydropower is an important given the water bodies in different rivulets can generate abundance of green power.
The introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) and improving rather investment in public transport can help limit carbon emissions drastically. Similarly, sustainable and efficient use of agriculture, forestry and land use to adapt changes we are locked in can be transformative. The partnership of public and private sector is key to bring resilience in vulnerable sectors, investment in expanding green shields and sustainable resource management to help mitigate climate change and warming in Chitral.