The following article is written by Sameeullah Kakar, a student of Sir Syed Kazim Ali. Moreover, the article is written on the same pattern, taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. Sir Kazim has uploaded his students’ solved past paper questions so other thousands of aspirants can understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Introduction
Global warming, the earth’s temperature rise, has become a headache for everyone in any corner of the world. Moreover, it has not only affected developing nations but has also become a hurdle for developed nations. It is, therefore, a fact that the rise in the temperature of the earth allows no one to live unaffected. However, global warming has certainly not left Pakistan untouched by becoming a victim of natural disasters like floods and droughts. Pakistan, to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNPCHA), has lost two million acres of crops in the floods of August 2022. Additionally, global warming has imposed multiple other drastic impacts, such as the melting of glaciers and the rise in heat waves. The situation has not worsened in a day or a night; rather, years of negligence in increasing Green House Gases (GHGs) and nitrogenous fertilisers is the main cause of concern. Therefore, the world has adopted several measures to remedy the situation, like the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement of 2016. Pakistan has contributed to minimising the issue by participating in international forums and initiating the Plant for Pakistan programme. Apart from it, the menace can be cured through the rise in renewable energy resources and the production of genetically engineered crops. Thus, if pragmatic measures are adopted, global warming can be curbed quickly.
Figuring out the meaning of Global Warming
The temperature of the world has been increasing since the industrial revolution. Moreover, to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the six years from 2015 to 2021 have remained the warmest in history. As a result, there occurs a rise in the level of oceans due to the melting of glaciers, and on analysing critically, none of them is useful for living things due to the rise in the number of disasters, like the floods of 2022 in Pakistan. Scientists have declared that the main cause of global warming remains the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHGs)- the direct result of the industrial revolution. Thus, the rise in temperature of the world is called global warming.
The status quo of Global warming and Pakistan
Currently, the menace of global warming has become a great concern for living things, taking them to the brink of destruction. Moreover, it is, nowadays, expressed in multiple forms, such as the rise in the number of diseases and the rise of natural disasters that need to be minimised in all circumstances. According to the World Research Institute (WRI), the temperature of the earth has risen by 1.1 Degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution; apart from it, Pakistan, according to a United Nations report, is the first and foremost bearer of global warming. Therefore, to minimise its impacts, Pakistan has adopted multiple measures, like the ten billion tree project.
What are the leading threats behind global warming?
Global warming has threatened the Earth multi-dimensionally. Moreover, some of them are of great concern to human beings, and the first and foremost threat is the constant rise in the melting of glaciers worldwide. The glaciers are the real source of clean water that is used to water plants, grow vegetables, drink, and, above all, have agricultural activities- the main source of income in Pakistan. And to some estimates, glaciers have lost about 267 gigatons of ice each year due to global warming. Thus, if the glaciers continue to melt at the same pace, the world, after some time, will surely face a shortage of clean water.
In the same fashion, global warming has threatened the world due to a major rise in natural disasters. Moreover, the number of natural disasters has not only affected developed nations like Japan but has also destroyed underdeveloped nations such as Pakistan. According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), thirty-three million people have been affected by the floods of August 2022 in Pakistan. It is not the only time Pakistan has faced such drastic rains; rather, similar floods have been faced by her in 2010. Thus, if the rise in the temperature of the world keeps on increasing, similar to history, several nations have to demise in the near future.
Similarly, the economy of multiple nations has come under threat due to global warming. The disasters not only take lives but also washes agricultural areas, which can easily be witnessed from Pakistan’s Planning Minister’s statement that more than ten billion dollars worth of damage has been done by the floods of 2022. Apart from it, the land that comes under the curse of floods becomes infertile, causing a decrease in agricultural products- a cause of food shortage. Thus, if floods and other natural disasters kept on increasing, multiple nations, especially underdeveloped ones like Pakistan, would face food shortages.
What are the prominent causes behind the ever-increasing global warming?
The curse of global warming has not come into existence on its own; rather, there are a number of globally accepted reasons behind it. However, the first cause in this regard is the constant rise in the concentration of greenhouse gases, which is a product of industries consuming fossil fuels. According to the United States Environment Protection Agency, Carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere has risen to forty-eight per cent compared to the preindustrial era. Apart from it, other gases, such as sulphur dioxide and nitrogenous oxide, that capture sunlight and absorb heat from the sun are also released by the industries. Thus, the more the number of industries using fossil fuels, the higher the temperature of the earth.
Similarly, the other major cause of global warming is the use of nitrogenous fertilisers in agricultural activities. Nitrogenous fertilizers not only contain Ammonia but also exhibit a certain percentage of Phosphoric Acid and Potash, which mixes with water and evaporates in the air. And they once again capture heat and sun rays increasing the temperature of the earth; moreover, to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United States (FAOU), 318652 thousand tons of Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, and Potash is the capacity of the world for the year 2022. Although fertilisers, in the short term, increase the percentage of production, it causes great harm in the long term. Thus, to nip the menace of global warming in the bud, it is necessary to reduce and nullify the percentage of nitrogenous fertilisers.
What are the measures taken by the world to minimise the issue of global warming?
There is a dire need to curb the menace of global warming with all possible measures. Moreover, a number of measures have been adopted globally to control it, and the first step in this regard was the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. It was signed by 192 countries with the purpose of reducing the GHGs, especially the emission of CO2, by the developed nations. However, the program was held in two phases starting in 2008 and 2012, respectively, but Canada and the United States of America withdrew from the contract in 2012 because they were unwilling to reduce the emission of CO2 by decreasing the number of industries. Thus, Kyoto Protocol has significant importance in controlling global warming.
In addition to the Kyoto Protocol, the other globally taken measure was the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2016, replacing the Kyoto Protocol of 1997. In the agreement, it was decided to adopt all the possible measures necessary to retain the temperature of the world below the rise of two Degrees Celsius as the consequences could be very much disastrous compared with today’s results, i.e., the constant floods and other natural disasters. Moreover, Pakistan signed the agreement on the first day of the agreement in New York. Thus, the globally taken measures have significant importance in countering global warming.
What are the measures taken by Pakistan to curb global warming?
Pakistan has also done its best to minimise global warming. Moreover, the first step in this regard is her participation in almost every international treaty or agreement, like the Kyoto Protocol of 1997, along with the Paris Agreement of 2016, replacing the former one. She became a member of the agreements on the first day of their establishment, presenting her priorities and intentions towards global warming.
In the same manner, Pakistan has tried to minimise the impacts of global warming by initiating several other schemes, like Plant for Pakistan, also known as the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami program. The scheme was initiated in 2018 by the government of Imran Khan, and nearly 1.1 million trees were planted on the first day of the scheme. Thus, Pakistan, with only a limited number of resources, has tried its best to curb the menace.
What measures, on adoption, can treat the menace of global warming?
There are multiple other measures that adoption can control global warming effectively. Indeed, the first step in this regard can be the use of renewable energy resources free from the release of GHGs, and the best example can be the establishment of Quaid-e-Azam Solar Power (Private) Limited with 100 Maga Watt capacity. These resources are free from GHGs and are able to fulfil the required need for electricity.
Similarly, other similar steps include the adoption of every step that helps to decrease greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As it is evident from multiple reports that the real cause of global warming is the presence of GHGs in the atmosphere, it is necessary to limit the amount of GHGs to limit the menace. Moreover, it is possible through the invention of electric cars like the MG ZS EV launched by Pakistan on 14th August 2022, and such cars can be used to travel without contributing to global warming.
Last but not least, the impacts of global warming can be diminished through the production of genetically engineered crops able to bear drought and salinity extremes. Indeed, the conditions have not remained suitable for agricultural production, and the agricultural products have to face extreme droughts and salinity. So, after inventing several genetically engineered crops, like Glycine max (soybean), able to bear droughts and salinity, they would be able to fulfil agricultural demands efficiently. Thus, global warming can be controlled if all the suggested measures are adopted in time.
Critical Analysis
After an insightful investigation, it is clear to describe global warming is a real threat to life on the blue planet Earth. However, it has not directly threatened human beings, but its impacts, such as the constant rise in melting of glaciers resulting in floods and other natural disasters, have become drastic and intolerable. Moreover, as it is the joint product of humans in the form of greenhouse gases released by industries, it can, therefore, be resolved only through the combined efforts of all the developed and the underdeveloped nations, like the Paris Agreement of 2016 and the ten billion Tree Tsunami Plantation programme.
Conclusion
In short, global warming has become a monster for human beings. Moreover, it has become severe with each passing day and has started threatening the earth through multiple impacts: the melting of glaciers and the increasing number of natural disasters. The menace has not adopted the worst shape in a day or a night; rather, the constant rise in greenhouse gases (GHGs) and the abundant use of nitrogenous fertilisers are the core reasons. However, to curb it, a number of measures, both nationally- like the implementation of the ten billion Tree Plantation Tsunami programme- and internationally- such as the adoption of Paris Agreement. Apart from it, there are still other suggestions, i.e., the use of renewable energy resources, that adoption can nullify the impacts of the menace for some time.
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