Climate change and its impacts

By,Shaukat Ali

The global temperature has already risen 1.1ºC above the pre-industrial level, with glaciers melting and the sea level rising.  Impacts of climate change also includes flooding and drought, displacing millions of people, sinking them into poverty and hunger, denying them access to basic services, such as health and education, expanding inequalities, stifling economic growth and even causing conflict.
Pakistan has gone through an unprecedented series of climate-induced disasters in 2022 including the record-breaking heatwave in March-April, glacial lake outbursts in Gilgit-Baltistan, wildfires in forests of Balochistan and KPK in May, urban flooding in Karachi in July, the early onset of monsoon, and the ensuing flash floods across the country. These cataclysmic incidents have had significant and cascading impacts on ecosystems, infrastructure, agriculture and water supply, contributing to larger effects on economic production.
By 2030, an estimated 700 million people will be at risk of displacement by drought alone.
Taking urgent action to combat climate change and its devastating impacts is therefore an imperative to save lives and livelihood, and key to making the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Goals – the blueprint for a better future – a reality.
In 2020, concentrations of global greenhouse gases reached new highs, and real-time data point to continued increases. As these concentrations rise, so does the Earth’s temperature. In 2021, the global mean temperature was about 1.1°C above the pre-industrial level (from 1850 to 1900). The years from 2015 to 2021 were the seven warmest on record.
To limit warming to 1.5° Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as set out in the Paris Agreement, global greenhouse gas emissions will need to peak before 2025. Then they must decline by 43 per cent by 2030 and to net zero by 2050. Countries are articulating climate action plans to cut emissions and adapt to climate impacts through nationally determined contributions. However, current national commitments are not sufficient to meet the 1.5°C target.

What’s the goal here?
Taking urgent action to tackle climate change and its impacts.
and other climate disas- ters across continents.
How are people being affected by climate change?
Why? Climate change is affect-
The climate crisis con- tinues unabated as the global community shies away from the full com- mitment required for its reversal. 2010-2019 was warmest decade ever recorded, bringing with it massive wildfires, hur- ricanes, droughts, floods
ing every country in the world. It is disrupting national economies and affecting lives and live- lihoods, especially for the most vulnerable.
Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are ris- ing, and weather events are becoming more extreme,
affecting more than 39 million people in 2018.
What happens if we don’t take action?
If left unchecked, climate change will cause aver- age global temperatures to increase beyond 3°C, and will adversely affect every ecosystem. Already, we are seeing how climate change can exacerbate storms and disasters, and threats such as food and water scarcity, which can lead to conflict. Doing nothing will end up cost- ing us a lot more than if we take action now. We have an opportunity to take actions that will lead to more jobs, great pros- perity, and better lives for all while reducing green- house gas emissions and building climate resilience.
Can we solve this problem or is it too late to act?
To address climate change, we have to vastly increase our efforts. Much is happening around the world – investments in renewable energy have soared. But so much more needs to be done. The world must transform its energy, industry, trans- port, food, agriculture and forestry systems to ensure
that we can limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C, maybe even 1.5°C. In December 2015, the world took a signifi- cant first step by adopting the Paris Agreement, in which all countries com- mitted to take action to address climate change. Many businesses and investors are also committing themselves to lower their emissions, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because
it makes economic and business sense as well.
Are we investing enough to tackle climate change?
Global climate-related financial flows saw a 17
per cent rise from 2013 to 2016, largely due to private investment in renewable energy, which represents the largest segment in total climate-related flows, to the amount of $681 billion. However, investment in fossil fuels continues to be higher than in climate activ- ities to the amount of $781 billion in 2016. To achieve a low-carbon, climate- resilient transition, a much
greater scale of annual investment is required.
In 2019, at least 120 of the 153 developing countries had undertaken activities to formulate and imple- ment National Adaptation Plans to enhance climate adaptation and resilience, an increase of 29 coun- tries over the previous year. Furthermore, prog- ress in meeting the 2020 disaster risk reduction target has been slow.

* Facts and figures
* In 2021, the global mean temperature was about 1.1°C above the pre-industrial level (from 1850 to 1900). The years from 2015 to 2021 were the seven warmest on record.
* The global annual mean temperature is projected to rise beyond 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels in at least one of the next five years.
* Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions declined by 5.2 per cent in 2020 due to lowered energy demand caused by COVID-19-induced social and economic disruptions. But with the phasing out of COVID-related restrictions, energy-related CO2 emissions for 2021 rose by 6 per cent, reaching their highest level ever.
* Climate finance provided and mobilized by developed countries totalled $79.6 billion in 2019, up from $78.3 billion in 2018. It is estimated that $1.6 trillion to $3.8 trillion will be needed each year through 2050 for the world to transition to a low-carbon future and avoid warming exceeding 1.5 °
* About one third of global land areas will suffer at least moderate drought by 2100.
* The sea level could rise 30 to 60 centimetres by 2100, even if greenhouse gas emissions are sharply reduced and global warming is limited to well below 2°C.
* About 70 to 90 per cent of warm-water coral reefs will disappear even if the 1.5°C threshold is reached; they would die off completely at the 2°C level.
* 3 billion to 3.6 billion people live in contexts that are highly vulnerable to climate change.
* By 2030, an estimated 700 million people will be at risk of displacement by drought alone.
Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022

According to the Global Climate Risk Index, Pakistan is the eighth most vulnerable country to climate crisis despite its very low carbon footprint. Pakistan has emitted only 0.4% of carbon dioxide, the primary greenhouse gas, since 1959, compared to 21.5% by the United States and 16.4% by China.
Even though Pakistan is responsible for the emission of less than 1% of the world’s global warming gases yet between 1952 and 2009, the temperatures in the country have risen by 0.3°C per decade – higher than the global average. This gradual warming of temperatures caused the phenomenal heatwaves in April and May this year with temperatures reaching above 40°C for prolonged periods in many places.
Climate experts noted that high flows and muddy water in the Hunza River, which feeds into the Indus, indicated rapid glacial melting because fast water picks up sediment as it moves downstream. Several glacial lakes have burst through the ice barriers that usually restrain them, causing unprecedented flash flooding in the country.
In Azad Jammu & Kashmir a non developmental organisation Kashmir Development Foundation (KDF) is playing good role to create awareness among youth to fight climate impacts in the State.
KDF also reached out to the effectees of floods in Gilgit Baltistan region last year to provide shelters.
Pakistan Council of Research on Water Resources warned that Pakistan will reach absolute water scarcity if adequate measures are not taken. The climate change-induced flash flooding caused immense devastation across the country as unfortunately, the country lacks the capacity to store water to meet its future water and energy needs. This important resource has been wasted due to the country’s inadequate water infrastructure.