Voice of climate-by Naseem Sheikh

  Weather of Pakistan  is expecting another good spell of monsoon rain after very hot, humid and sweaty period. PMD (Pakistan Meteorological Department ) has informed that the “second spell of monsoon rains is expected in coming 24 hours, travelling through the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, has made its way into the north-eastern parts of the country.” Rainfall is expected to match the long-term average to slightly more in northern half of Pakistan. Good rainfall spell are expected during the 2nd and 3rd decade of the month, which may cause urban flooding and flash floods in some parts of the country. According to the spokesperson of meteorological department, the monsoon with gusty winds and thunder splash will lash isolated places in Malakand, Hazara, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Lahore divisions, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir regions from 13th to 15th July. “Seasonal Low lies over North Baluchistan on 14th and 15th July with its trough extending sou...

Now a days various messages on social media warns Pakistani nation to avoid chicken consumption, because its source of Nipah virus, In Pakistan production of poultry products is very high to fulfill the consumption requirements. For Layman it is confusing and  debatable either chicken is source of Nipah virus or not, mostly said no its fake news, chicken is safe its not the cause of spread, other said avoid the chicken consumption because, prevention is better than cure. Nipah virus (NiV) infection is a newly emerging zoonosis that causes severe disease in both humans and animals. "Zoonosis means a disease that can be transmitted to humans from animals". Nipah virus was first identified in Kampung Sungai Nipah, Malaysia in 1998. The pigs were the intermediate hosts during that outbreak. Around 1.1 million pigs had to be killed to control the outbreak. However, it is not necessary to have an intermediate host during Nipah Virus outbreak. The natural host of ...

The Lahore city and its surroundings continued to experience intermittent  heavy rain , which turned the weather pleasant after a months-long spell of heat .A total 252 millimeters of rain has been recorded in the city in the last 24 hours. However, the rain is still continuing to lash Lahore among other cities across Punjab. Pakistan heavy monsoon rain fall broke 38 years record and hopefully help in compensate the severe water shortage, lower mercury level and dry conditions. The country was facing worst water crisis since there have been no ‘good’ showers in the last five months along with two to three degree higher than normal temperatures. Mercury level at Lahore was first time hit to 50C . because of that dry  weather spell, dams around Islamabad were in critical situation. Therefore, the monsoon rains are being considered as a way out for addressing the current water scarcity situation. On Thursday, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said this ...

“Oops! I am not smoker but I am smoking cigarette in public. A deeper understanding of how the loss of our already not-so-clean air will impact  on our health is, just like cigarette smoking, a matter of life and death. Many research work is going on, on intersection of climatic change, air pollution and human health. it is now well understood that short term and long term exposure to airborne particles, including smoke and dust pose major health risks. In human its impact may start from minor irritation in throat to severe cough, respiratory disorder, reduced line of sight,  hypertension, different types of allergies and other cardiovascular problems resulted in hospital admission and even in children is to premature death. Every year, more than 12 million people die from the hidden risks in our environment, carried by the air we breathe, the water we drink, or unseen chemicals to which we are too often exposed. Usually normal people on average cannot r...

Pakistan is basically an agricultural country, the landscape is predominantly arid. Water, already a scarce commodity in most parts of the country, is now facing further shortages. Because of the poverty and population growth, there has been an over-exploitation of natural resources. An unplanned increase in industrialisation and urbanisation has led to pollution in water, air, and land. Along with water shortages, land degradation has been an issue. Environmental issues in Pakistan threaten the population’s health and have been disturbing the balance between economic development and environmental protection not much serious attention was paid to environmental issues in Pakistan in 2012. Related concerns, such as renewable resources for power productions, sanitation and potable water, received earlier scrutiny. Pakistan Year 2012 in Pakistan was really difficult for environment and climatic conditions. First shock given by Government was the dissolution of the M...

  The environmental field has experienced a major transition in the past 20 years. Climatic changes are actually happening and Earth is heating up, the glaciers melting and water is being consumed by the growing population. The changing climate leads to changes in the frequency and timing of extreme weather and climate events, and can result in unprecedented extreme weather and climate events. Geographically, Pakistan lies between 24 o and 37 o N latitude and 61 o and 75 o E longitude. With the scarcity of water, there is less food to grow and South Asia is the most vulnerable region of the world as its population is growing far too quickly and the glaciers in the Himalayas depleting very fast. There are two sources of rainfall in Pakistan: the Monsoon and the Western Depression. The former takes place from July to September and the latter from December to March. For Pakistan, the bad news is that the River Indus is 30 to 40 per cent dependent on the Himal...

  Monday, 10th December is 64th anniversary of the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR sets out a broad range of fundamental human rights and freedoms to which all men and women, everywhere in the world, are entitled, without any distinction. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted on 10 December 1948. The date has since served to mark Human Rights Day worldwide. The High Commissioner for Human Rights, as the main UN rights official, and her Office play a major role in coordinating efforts for the yearly observance of Human Rights Day. This year’s theme for the Day, which is being observed through numerous events around the world, is ‘ Inclusion and the Right to Participate International law is clear: No matter who you are, or where you live, your voice counts. On this Day, let us unite to defend your right to make it heard in Public Life .’; Article 18 of UDHR. Yet far too many groups and individuals...

According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation, 2.2% or about 1,687,000 ha of Pakistan is forested. Pakistan has 340,000 ha of planted forest. And that has been declining rapidly.  Between 1990 and 2010, Pakistan lost an average of 42,000 ha or 1.66% per year. In total, between 1990 and 2010, Pakistan lost 33.2% of its forest cover or around 840,000 ha. Pakistan's forests contain 213 million metric tons of carbon in living forest biomass. It boasts  some 1027 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals and reptiles according to figures from the World Conservation Monitoring Centre. Of these, 3.5% are endemic, meaning they exist in no other country, and 5.5% are threatened. Pakistan is home to at least 4950 species of vascular plants, of which 7.5% are endemic. 4.0% of Pakistan is protected under IUCN categories I-V. Khurshid Ahmed, an environmentalist from Peshawar University, says most of the logs illegally cut from Pakistan's forests have be...

IS CO2 main culprit of global warming or not? Recently this is very debatable topic, one group says CO2 is a normal gas like hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen and not a reason of recent global warming but there is group of believers that admit CO2 as culpable and I am believer of second group. To satisfies them I have a small logical reason as in our surrounding we have a large number of nutrients but not all of equal importance, few are micro and other are macro similarly their ratio in our diet matters a lot. If one exceed its normal limit cause in ill factor of body functioning. Similarly CO2 is main culprit for causing global warming due to presence of carbon which is main building block of nature and nature believes on balance of every thing. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a slightly toxic, odourless, colourless gas with a slightly pungent, acid taste. it is currently occurring at an average concentration of about 390 parts per million by volume or 591 parts per millio...

World Osteoporosis Day was launched on 20 October 1996 by the United Kingdom's National Osteoporosis Society and supported by European Commission. Since 1997, the day has been organized by IOF Osteoporosis is now common. Around the world, at least one in three women and one in five men over the age of 50 will suffer a fracture caused by weak bones. In our late forties our risk of weak bones increases and in females the risk increases more. The main reasons are lack of awareness, imbalance of hormones, calcium deficiency,  wrong food, excessive dieting.T hirty-three per cent of older adults who suffer a hip fracture become physically impaired and lose their ability to live independently one year after the fracture. Bone loss can also be related to chronic inflammation (caused by body dehydration and many other factors) and by an overly acidic inner body pH (of 7.0 or less). Our inner body should have a lightly alkaline pH (greater than 7.0). Bone dehydration (in...