Milan University students meet PM’s climate aide

Islamabad:A four-member delegation of students from Italy’s Milan University called on Coordinator to Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam to discuss the pressing issue of climate change and its impacts on Pakistan.

During the meeting held here on Thursday in the climate change and environmental delegation ministry, the students’ delegation was also apprised of the various socio-economic impacts of climate change and the government’s policy measures for building the country’s climate resilience. On the occasion, the PM’s climate aide welcomed the students’ delegation and said, “As we all know, climate change is one of the most critical challenges facing our world today, and its effects are increasingly evident in Pakistan.

Romina Khurshid Alam told the students that ranked among the world’s top ten climate-vulnerable country, Pakistan had been experiencing a rise in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, particularly unprecedented floods, intense monsoon rains, intense devastating heatwaves, rapid glacial melting and consequent glacial lake outburst floods.

The recent heatwave in June 2024 saw temperatures soar to record highs, impacting public health and agriculture, she highlighted. She said further that floods, which are becoming more intense and frequent, displace thousands of families, damage infrastructure, and disrupt livelihoods, especially in rural areas.

“For resource-poor the country, managing these fallouts of climate change has become a grave challenge because of the frequency and magnitutde at which they are occurring and inadequate financial and technical resources,” the PM’s climate aide said.

Talking about impacts on agriculture sector, Romina Khurshid Alam told the students that climate change was also affecting crop yields and food security. Unpredictable weather patterns and extreme temperatures are harming crops and reducing productivity to an extent that crop failures and fall in productivity of different crops had become new normal in the country, with significant implications for food prices and rural economies, Ms Alam explained.