Ghazala Anbreen

The sea surface temperatures are constantly rising because of increased emissions. There are different factors which are responsible for this. The heat is generated from unlined waste dump sites. Unfortunately, the burning of crop residues is also a very big source of increase in temperature in Pakistan. Another major  source is vehicular emissions. The heat caused by Euro 2 fuel is  more than that caused by Euro 5. Therefore, switching to Euro 5, cleaner fuel standards is very necessary and is the dire need of the time in order to counter this heat problem. Factories also need to have a proper control as regards the environmental certificates. Electrostatic precipitators with the towers should be in working condition.

 When we go to the suburbs of big cities there are small plants which burn plastic. Because of the emissions of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5), this burning of plastic becomes the reason of generating toxic substances as, for instance, dioxins and furans. These are highly dangerous because a lot of heat is generated through them. For environment they have a severe detrimental effect.

These dioxins can travel through the atmosphere. As a result they poison the crops, water and soil and contaminate them. Thus the food chain is affected and human health is at stake. In Karachi some people have died because of heat stroke.The number of patients suffering from heat strokes admitted in hospitals are increasing all over the country.

 Despite the fact that global warming is a reality, for a comfortable living, controlling the sources of heat generation is essential.  We have to look at our waste disposal mechanisms also. The unmanaged waste is also a reason for the increase in temperature. These create methane gas which leads to global warming. We have to check it meticulously whether our waste has the capability of burning at 1100 degree centigrade. Attaining the target of zero waste to landfill can be possible when it is seen how much waste we throw in the landfills. In general, much of  the waste in most of the countries all over the globe is thrown to the  engineered landfills, as it is the cheapest and safest method of waste disposal. The gas from these landfills is used for energy production. However, achieving the target of Near zero waste to energy can become a reality. And for this purpose the training of the people, (the consumers) is essential. The people should be consistently reminded through regular awareness campaigns that they must throw the waste in separate designated bins only.

To sum up, resorting to cleaner fuel standards, minimizing vehicular emissions, better waste management techniques,  regulations regarding industrial controls and proper enforcement and stopping open crop residual burning, all these measures can help countering the problem of rising temperature to a great extent. These are in our control and with the use of proper technology we can help achieve this for a better future for our younger generations.