Heatwaves are more likely to occur beginning around the middle of the month
The Federal Minister for Climate Change & Environmental Coordination, Senator Sherry Rehman has urged state and local governments to adopt measures to protect citizens’ health and lessen the effects of climate change on the most vulnerable populations.
According to the PMD’s most recent weather forecast for the month of May, heatwaves are more likely to occur beginning around the middle of the month, especially in the southern half of the country. This prompted the minister responsible for climate change to issue her call to action.
Minister Rehman is urging organizations to implement the ‘Heatwave Guidelines – Urgent Preparatory Measures’ issued by the Ministry of Climate Change in order to lessen the severity of any potential damage caused by heatwaves.
These recommendations give essential guidance for preparing for and responding to extreme heat events, as well as a preventative strategy for limiting the spread of heat-related illnesses. Key short-term steps outlined in the Guidelines included “the activation of Union Council level heat wave response units (HRU) and establishing provincial level control rooms for coordination to protect vulnerable segments of the urban population.”
Minister Rehman also outlined several medium to long-term measures to address the underlying causes of heatwaves such as climate-induced disaster management to school curriculums, increasing green spaces by planting more trees in urban areas, establishing ‘Cool Centers’ at easily accessible public locations, and developing an early Heat-Health Warning System (HHWS). These steps, the Minister emphasized, will help build the country’s resilience to extreme weather events and protect the health and safety of its citizens in the long run.
The Minister elaborated, “The effects of climate change, especially with increasing greenhouse gas emissions globally are contributing to more frequent, highly severe, and longer lasting heatwaves across the region and the country. Pakistan is a negligible emitter yet our most vulnerable pay the price for the overheated climate. It is not easy to switch to a resilient development model, which costs four times as much as regular reconstruction, while you are still rebuilding from the last shock but we have to try. “
The Minister highlighted that “Pakistan is listed among the ten most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world, experiencing frequent climate-induced disasters. Over the past decade, the frequency of hot days has been three times higher than the frequency of cold days on the global scale.
Pakistan has recorded the hottest temperatures on the planet consistently for the last three years, and with El Niño expected to return this year which could push global temperatures past the 1.5°C mark with devastating impacts on ecosystems & vulnerable countries. The extreme temperatures and heatwaves that are expected to hit the south of the country this summer will put vulnerable populations at the forefront of another climate crisis.”
Minister Rehman further stated that the responsibility for responding to the damaging impacts of heatwaves rests primarily with the districts, the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs), Health Departments, and local administration, and that the Guidelines have been distributed to the chief secretaries of all the provinces and relevant authorities in Islamabad.
The Minister underscored the importance of these authorities utilizing the guidelines to take necessary and timely measures to protect vulnerable communities and mitigate the impacts of extreme heat.