When the air radiates like a furnace, the sun blazes down like a relentless radiator, and human beings turn into flesh simmering under the rage of a Pakistani summer, a question sparks in the mind of a curious child on a road trip with his family,
Why does Lahore feel like a frying pan at night while the nearby villages cool down?
The answer lies in the Urban Heat Island Effect which can be described in simple terms as the tendency of cities to trap and retain more heat than rural and open areas. Think of it as a pot containing hot food. If it is covered by a lid then it will retain the heat within itself. On the other hand when the pot is uncovered, the heat escapes. In this case, cities are pots with a lid while villages remain uncovered.
The causes for the conversion of a city into a UHI include asphalt, concrete, and glass. All of these are present minimally in villages where the houses tend to be made of mud or other sustainable materials. Vehicle and industrial emissions are some of the fundamental contributors to this part of global warming as well. Moreover, the belief of city folks that air conditioning is the solution to all problems has led the environment outside of their homes to turn into ovens stepping nowhere beneath 40° during the summer. ACs technically cool the indoors by dumping the heat outdoors.
Every year in Karachi, hundreds die from the intensity of the heat wave that prevails over the city, as in 2015 when the death toll due to heatwave reached 1200. The same can be observed in Lahore and Faisalabad, while Islamabad also seems to be following in their footsteps, while it was once considered the forest city of Pakistan.
Even after decades of independence, Pakistan continues to struggle with short-sighted policies and mismatched priorities, leaving it's cities hotter, more polluted and increasingly unlivable. Yet, the people are not without hope. With the right amount of investment in planning education and genuine climate action, Pakistanis can work towards a greener and cooler tomorrow.
Credits:
Written By: Abeeha Fatima
Photo credits: Dawn news
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