ISLAMABAD – Deadly heatwaves are going to be a country’s much biggersocio-economic and health problem in the coming decades, particularly indensely populated urban areas of the country, as these globalwarming-induced extreme weather events are becoming more frequent andoccurring over a much greater portion of the country.
Climate change ministry spokesperson Mohammad Saleem said, “But devastatingfallouts of heat waves on humans can be largely mitigated through timelyand effective responsive measures.”
He said that extreme heatwaves, such as the one presently torching thevarious cities and towns of the country, are frequently cited as one of themost direct effects of global warming-induced climate change.
Saleem said the Pakistan is most likely to suffer more frequent and intenseheatwaves as the average temperatures in the country are constantlyincreasing.
Heatwaves matter because they kill large number of people through heatstress, cause forest fires, reduce crop yields and damage ecosystems, whichare not adapted to high temperatures, he emphasised.
The media spokesperson said that the World Meteorological Department’sreports show that annual average temperature in the country has jumped upby roughly 0.5°C, which has led to five-fold rise in heat wave days overlast 30 years. Besides, the country’s annual temperature is well on path torise by 3°C to 5°C due to a heat-trapping global carbon emissions.
“Such dangerously rising trends in temperatures will potentially continueto cast various negative effects on the country’s human health, spikefrequency and intensity levels of extreme weather events including heatwaves, cloudbursts, floods, glacial melt, agricultural productivity, wateravailability, coastal erosion and seawater incursion,” the climate changespokesperson Mohammad Saleem highlighted.
He said humans are adapted to body temperatures of around 37°C. If humidity– the levels of water vapour in the air – goes up with the thermometer,then people caught in a zone of extreme heat cannot adjust bodytemperatures by perspiration.
And, with every 1°C rise in temperatures, the capacity of the air to holdmoisture goes up by 7%. People with no access to air conditioning or a coolbreeze become, however, at high risk, he added.
Quoting a study published last year in the Nature Climate Change Journal,he said globally one in three person is vulnerable to heatwave-relatedhealth impacts. But by the year 2100, three out of four people on earthcould be subject to at least 20 days per year of heat and humidityassociated with deadly heat waves, if carbon emissions from industries,transport, aviation, energy, deforestation and agriculture continue to riseat their current rates.
He said further that according to the study’s findings based on data about783 heatwave incidents in 164 cities from 36 countries about 30% of theworld’s population (and about 13% of the land area) experiences at least 20days per year on which the deadly threshold is reached. By 2100, thispercentage jumps to 74% of the population (47% of the land area) ifemissions continue unchecked.
He pointed out that even though humans aggressively cut back on thesecarbon emissions, such as outlined in the Paris climate agreement,increasing temperatures and humidity levels would combine to ratchet up theintensity and frequency of deadly heat waves in various countries includingPakistan, India, and Afghanistan.
Nonetheless, the good news is that heatwaves are quite predictable, and“extreme temperature early action systems as being practices in Karachihave proven that they can save lives in the heatwave-vulnerable areas ofthe country, Saleem said.
“By expanding early heat wave warning systems in heatwave-prone areas ofthe country, authorities can boost their ability to prevent a lot ofsuffering, illness, and death from heat waves through timely response andpreparedness,” he said.
The climate change media spokesperson suggested that that building capacityof individuals and communities to respond to the heat stress duringheatwaves by raising heat health awareness campaigns in the country beforethe onset of a heat waves season can be of a great help to cope with thefallouts of the heat waves on the health of people.
Besides, expanding cool roofs, painting solar reflective paint onbuildings, encouraging gardens on rooftops, increasing access to drinkingwater and training medical personnel, he added.
Saleem also underlined the need for district-wise heatwave management planscomprising measures including no or reduced power outages, sustainedprovision of water, healthcare facilities in hospitals and establishment ofroadside public shades to stave off human losses from their impacts. – APP