The Impact Of Climate Change In Pakistan

One fifth of the world’s population is located in south Asia. It is the most disposed region in the world. The majority of the poor people also lived there. There is a big figure of undernourished people according to FAO 2009.Climate change appeared as the single most persistent issue dominatingsociety on a global basis, with severe consequences for the food security of billions of people in the developing countries. The inter-annual, monthly and daily distribution of climate variables (e.g., temperature, radiation, precipitation, water vapor pressure in the air and wind speed) disturbs a number of physical, chemical and livingprocesses that vigor the yield of agricultural, forestry and fisheries systems (Easterling et al. 2007).Climate change

Although Pakistan has negligible contribution in global carbon emissions, it is high among the list of countries that are suffering from climate change. German watch, a NGO that publishes an annual Global Risk Index of countries most vulnerable to climate related disasters, in 2010 listed Pakistan as the number one most affected country in the world. And in 2011 & 2012, Pakistan was ranked as number three in the list of countries hardest hit by weather disasters because of Climate Change.Pakistan is used to suffering from multiple crises at a time, news headlines are usually dominated by issues like terrorism, injustice, extremism, political unrest and power shortages etcetera. But the dangerous threat we all know as climate change has been virtually left off the radar when it comes to issues of national priority. Environmental issues have always found little space in Pakistan, mainly due to mass unawareness within the political culture of the country.Studies from the Pakistan Metrological Department shows dramatic changes in Pakistan’s climate, such as;10 to 15% decrease in rainfall in the coastal belts and hyper arid plains, 18-32% increase in rainfall in the monsoons zone,

The coping capacity of the rural poor, especially in the marginal areas, is poor and there is a need to mainstream the good practices for adaptation to climate change into sustainable development planning in the region. Improved understanding of the climate change impacts, vulnerability and the adaptation practices to cope with climate change could help this process.The developing countries of Asia like Pakistan, where impacts of climate change are likely to be felt most severely because of resource and infrastructure constraints, need to develop and implement incremental adaptation strategies and policies to exploit no regretmeasures and stressing the importance of considering climate change in planning, designing and implementing development activities. The first is a macro strategy and involves rapid sustainable and equitable development that will increase income levels; education and technical skills; improve public