ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Met­e­oro­logical Department has forecast that regions in the country’s southern half would face a sudden rise in day temperatures this week while temperatures are likely to rise gradually in other parts of the country.

According to the weather advisory of Pakistan Meteorological Depart­ment released on Tuesday, the presence of high pressure in the upper atmosphere would the day temperatures are likely to increase gradually in most parts of the country particularly in southern half of the country from May 10 to 13.

Day temperatures are likely to be three to five degrees Celsius above normal in Sindh, south Punjab and parts of Balochistan.

The mercury will be two to three degrees Celsius above normal in upper and central Punjab, Islam­abad, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

The Met department advised farmers to manage the watering of crops accordingly. The general public was advised to avoid unnecessary exposure to direct sunlight and to use water judiciously.

Minister’s counsel

The Federal Minis­ter for Climate Change and Environ­mental Coordination, Senator Sherry Rehman, has advised institutions to observe precautions in order to safeguard public health and to minimise the impact of extreme weather on vulnerable communities.

The minister’s call to action came in response to the latest weather forecast made by the Pakistan Meteorological Department’s (PMD) for this month.

In her appeal, Sherry Rehman called upon all institutions to follow the Ministry for Climate Change’s recently issued ‘Heatwave Guidelines — Urgent Preparatory Measures’. These guidelines offered a proactive approach to prevent the spread of heat-related illnesses and provide critical information on how to prepare for and respond to extreme heat events.

Key short-term measures specified in the Guidelines included the activation of union council-level response units (HRU) and establishing provincial level control rooms for coordination to protect vulnerable segments of the urban population.

Sherry Rehman outlined several medium- to long-term measures to address the underlying causes of heatwaves, for example climate-induced disaster management to school curriculums, increasing green spaces by planting more trees in urban areas, establishing ‘cool centres’ at easily accessible public locations, and developing an early Heat-Health Warning System.

These steps, the minister emphasised, would help build the country’s resilience to extreme weather events and protect the health and safety of its citizens in the long run.

“The effects of climate change, especially with increasing greenhouse gas emissions globally, are contributing to more frequent, highly severe, and longer lasting heatwaves across the region and the country.”

Most vulnerable countries

The minister highlighted that Pakistan was listed among the ten most vulnerable countries to climate change in the world, experiencing frequent climate induced disasters. Over the past decade, the frequency of hot days had been three times higher than the frequency of cold days at the global scale.

“Pakistan has recorded the hottest temperatures on the planet consistently for the last three years, and with El Niño expected to return this year which could push global temperatures past the 1.5°C mark with devastating impacts on ecosystems & vulnerable countries.

Published in Dawn, May 10th, 2023