00:00Let's talk about what is happening and how things can be managed.
00:04Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies, Dr. Waqar Ahmed is with us in the studio.
00:09He is an environmental expert. Let's ask him what is happening.
00:13Thank you so much for joining us.
00:15Dr. Waqar, when you came to us,
00:18in July, the weather is usually pleasant.
00:21There is a cloud cover, as Dr. Shahid Rasool was talking about.
00:24But this time, the temperature is 36 degrees centigrade.
00:29Then there is this feels-like scene.
00:31Feels like 40.
00:32It's a different kind of fun.
00:34Now, when you land in Karachi,
00:38you see a concrete jungle.
00:41The buildings are so tall,
00:44so there is no air flow.
00:47There are no trees.
00:48There used to be electricity, but now there is no electricity.
00:50So, as a result of global warming,
00:54how can we deal with it?
00:57As you just said,
00:59in July, the weather was like this,
01:01and now it is like this.
01:03These things are included in extreme weather events.
01:06As we saw yesterday,
01:08how extreme heat was reduced.
01:11These extreme weather events,
01:13climate change is happening all over the world.
01:16And because of this climate change,
01:18it is being said that the temperature will increase by so many degrees.
01:23The prediction of the increase in temperature
01:25is based on the average temperature.
01:28But the effect of this will be more in the form of extreme weather events.
01:34That is, there will be a lot of heat waves,
01:37cyclones, rains,
01:40or droughts.
01:42So, you will see these things going extreme.
01:46But this is not very effective
01:48if Pakistan and India are talking about this
01:50as compared to other regions.
01:53You are absolutely right that this region is more affected.
01:56Because Pakistan is on the list of countries
01:58that are affected by climate change.
02:00It is in the top 10.
02:02Pakistan is in the top 10.
02:04Other than that, there are other countries,
02:06like Maldives, Bhutan, etc.
02:08These are small countries,
02:10like some island countries,
02:12which are more at risk due to sea level rise.
02:14Like Maldives.
02:16Yes, exactly.
02:18So, there is more danger in such countries.
02:20But if you compare it with Pakistan,
02:22which is the size of the population,
02:24then, obviously,
02:26Pakistan is more affected.
02:28So, tell me,
02:30Pakistan is affected,
02:32but the adverse effects are more in Karachi.
02:34Is there a special reason for this?
02:36Actually, overall,
02:38the coastal region will be more affected.
02:40The impact of climate change
02:42will be more on the coastal region.
02:44And the United Nations reports
02:46related to climate change,
02:48the IPCC reports,
02:50the sixth assessment report,
02:52which is the latest,
02:54they have predicted that
02:56the coastal regions
02:58will be more affected by climate change.
03:00So, Karachi,
03:02which is located on the coast,
03:04will be more affected.
03:06So, what work is being done in our region
03:08regarding this situation?
03:10If we talk about it,
03:12we are told that so many trees will be planted,
03:14billions of trees will be planted.
03:16Where are they?
03:18I have not seen any such project.
03:20But some work is being done on it.
03:22Because trees also help
03:24your environment a lot.
03:26They play a big role
03:28in saving heat.
03:30You are right.
03:32And the mangrove forests in our coastal areas
03:34have also been cut
03:36in the name of housing schemes
03:38or in the name of port construction
03:40or in the name of industries.
03:42Now, let's talk about mangroves.
03:44Still, the Sindh government is working.
03:46We used to have very good mangrove forests here.
03:48On the coast of Clifton,
03:50in the area of KPT,
03:52in the area of DHA,
03:54the forests were very good.
03:58So, many forests were cut
04:00and because of that,
04:02we had an adverse impact.
04:04Because they balance the heat,
04:06they balance the impact of extreme heat.
04:08Especially, mangrove forests
04:10regulate the climate,
04:12balance it,
04:14moderate it.
04:16So, if they are absent,
04:18because of that,
04:20the extreme events of heat
04:22will increase.
04:24And it will become a natural
04:26cooling mechanism.
04:28What should we do now?
04:30Before Saurabh Ghor,
04:32there was greenery.
04:34Now, there are buildings.
04:36Before that, there was greenery.
04:38Now, there are buildings.
04:40We call it a concrete jungle.
04:42So, what is our planning?
04:44My question is the same.
04:46We have planned for 5 years,
04:483 years. What have we thought?
04:50If there is anything, what is it?
04:52Let me tell you a small thing
04:54about concrete.
04:56The more the built-up area increases,
04:58the phenomenon
05:00called urban heat island effect
05:02will increase.
05:04The more the built-up area increases.
05:06The important thing is that
05:08we don't need to
05:10plant trees.
05:12We need a plantation.
05:14There is no plantation
05:16in Greenwells.
05:18In fact, restaurants are open
05:20in Greenwells.
05:22So, this is the situation
05:24in parks and playgrounds.
05:26We don't want to be a part
05:28of the problem.
05:30We want to be a part of the solution.
05:32These suggestions
05:34like white painting
05:36the roofs,
05:38and other measures
05:40are being discussed.
05:42What can we do?
05:44What are the options?
05:46You have identified
05:48many such options.
05:50If we paint the roofs white,
05:52the effect of white is
05:54that the heat is reduced.
05:56The reflectivity increases
05:58and the heat absorption decreases.
06:00Apart from this, if we increase
06:02the use of rooftop gardening
06:04and green walls,
06:06the effect of urban heat island
06:08can be reduced.
06:10The accumulation of heat
06:12can be reduced.
06:14We can take
06:16such measures.
06:18Apart from this,
06:20if you look at
06:22the old parks in Mughal era,
06:24there are ponds.
06:26Ponds are there
06:28for heat absorption and cooling.
06:30The effect is cooling.
06:32In the same way,
06:34we can take such measures.
06:36If we don't have water,
06:38even if we make a pond,
06:40how will we get water?
06:42We have multiple problems.
06:44You are right.
06:46Karachi is not getting sufficient water supply.
06:48The population is more than 3 crores.
06:50But the water supply
06:52is very low in Karachi.
06:54Thank you so much.
06:56You pointed out many things.
06:58We need to work on many things.
07:00Thank you so much, Dr.
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