ISLAMABAD: Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman on Thursday said her ministry had issued a heatwave alert to all provinces as a sudden rise in temperature would also jeopardise public health and agriculture.
In a statement, the minister criticised the previous government for not taking adequate measures despite prior warnings issued by various international environmental watchdogs at the onset of the ongoing year.
Sherry said: “The former government should have taken precautionary measures to deal with the heatwave as international organizations had warned of a severe and prolonged heatwave in the region”.
The minister said South Asia, as the rest of the world, was facing a severe heatwave this year. “The temperature in the border areas of Pakistan and India is expected to go up to 49 to 50 degrees,” Rehman added.
“Extreme heatwaves are a sign of climate change and global warming. Pakistan has been facing an unexpected heatwave since March,” she mentioned.
Rehman further said that the temperatures in Pakistan were likely to rise by 6 to 8 degrees Celsius which was more than usual this year. “According to the Meteorological Department, this year was the hottest month since March 1961.”
While enunciating the global warming impacts recorded this year, Rehman said the rainfall in March alone was 62 percent less than normal. In 2018, Nawabshah became the hottest city in the world in April when mercury went above 50 degrees, she underscored.
Rehman urged the people to take precautionary measures to avoid extreme heat.
