FRANCE recently saw temperatures cross 40 degrees Celsius. As extreme heat gripped the country, people panicked. Trying to beat the heat, many drowned while taking a dip in canals and rivers. Unable to maintain bearable temperatures inside, thousands of schools and other public facilities shut down. Living spaces, transit stations and healthcare facilities in French cities are designed to manage extreme cold, and not extreme heat. Small windows and the absence of domestic cooling appliances such as fans have made living conditions even more unbearable in summer.
The outdoors is not hospitable either in the blistering heat. With the sun rising in Paris at about 5.45 am and setting at 10 pm, exposure to the heat has been truly extensive. In this chaos, solutions such as the installation of air conditioners are being pushed. However, experts believe this is not a holistic solution. Cities in Europe and elsewhere must redesign their built environment to keep pace with the growing impact of climate change.
Climate predictions for Pakistan indicate that life in many of our cities will become increasingly difficult, too, as heat levels turn unbearable. Jacobabad, Larkana, Sibi, Turbat, Multan, Karachi and Lahore will be severely impacted in summers. The larger cities are vulnerable due to high-density locations, unpredictable urban basic services and an unliveable built environment. Our present response is well below the desired level. Climate-related challenges include droughts, unpredictable rates of precipitation, depletion of water aquifers, waterlogging and salinity, melting glaciers, flash floods, unpredictable monsoons, acid rain, drastic reductions in forest cover, marine pollution and rising sea levels. Unregulated real estate development and regressive changes in land use have aggravated the problem. It is commonly observed that forests and agricultural tracts are zoned for residential, commercial and industrial use without administrative sanction. No proper professional appraisal or mandatory environmental assessment is done to decide such crucial matters.
