Total dissent of climate change or gross negligence, what do we call it? Smog, rainfall shortage and perplexing changes in climate, when will we realize that it would be too late before we accept that climate change is real.
A mere acceptance of climate change won’t do any good, stern measures to restore the balance need to be taken.
Read More: Pakistan is Under Severe Threat from Climate Change: ADB
From what we are seeing it, doesn’t seem that we are going the right way. A study under the Land Cover Project led by Geomatics of Université catholique de Louvain (UCL) Belgium showed how quickly we are moving towards a treeless world.
In the last ten years in Lahore, the total tree cover went down by 75%. The study under the project did the change analysis at irregular intervals from 2007 to 2015.
The results were no less than a shock.
Instead of planting more trees we are cutting them down. The trend towards increase of urban area and deforestation has grown in Lahore, which is one the reasons why smog has spread so rapidly and is out of control.
By 2017, the tree cover is expected to have been reduced even further. Throughout Pakistan, all federal and provincial governments need to plant trees and ensure reduction in pollution. Only planting trees in one province would not be enough to improve the situation in the whole country.
Lifeless parched soil, chronic droughts and environmental pollution are some of the consequences of deforestation.
Drastic measures need to be taken to plant more trees. Moreover, we should take initiatives that promote a sustainable urban development so that we leave a better world for coming generations.