Climate Change and Chitral – By: Faizan Aziz
Climate change is a factual phenomenon of the modern world. Since the late 20th century, the world has been facing adverse and dangerous weather patterns, including floods, forest fires, cyclones, and tsunamis. Pakistan is also the biggest victim of climate change. The devastating floods of 2010 and 2011 are the best examples of it. Nowadays, the country faces drought in winter in its northern areas while extremely high levels of hot temperature in summer in urban cities. The cities like Karachi and Lahore have been facing extremely dangerous heat waves since 2015. And almost eight thousand people have died from this climatic phenomena.
It is the first time in the history of Pakistan, that the cities like Sibi, Jacobabad, and Mohenjo Daro record temperatures exceeding 50°C (fifty degrees Celsius) in the recent year of summer. However, in winter the northern areas of Pakistan, including Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan, are also affected by the climate change. In recent years, these areas have faced problems like flash floods, severe and drouth winters, and extreme rainfall in April and May. All these events are due to climate change and global warming. As a local of Chitral, it is a fact that climate change has severely affected the beauty of this valley and created severe challenges for local communities of Chitral.
Since 2010, Chitral has been facing the problem of flash flood, GLOF (glacial lake outburst Flood) and heavy rainfall. The infrastructure, agriculture, forest, and green posture have been completely destroyed due to climate change. The weather patterns have also changed while recent years the weather changes have recorded completely hard. It was the first time in the history of Chitral where the 2023 winter became snowless while in April and May the heavy rainfall and snowfall hit the valley and created an emergency situation in Chitral.
The government failed to create effective policy regarding climate change and sustainable development. Even though some policies have been created since 2010 but their implementation has never happened. And Pakistan is facing a major problem of floods, heatweaves, deforestation, urban flooding, heatwaves, wildfire, flash flood, soil erosion, smoke and water scarcity and pollution. Institutions like The National Disaster Management Authority of Pakistan and other provincial and local Disaster Management Authorities have failed to tackle disaster-related problems specially related to climate change. But beyond the lack of resources, money, and the serious attitude of public leaders, there are no reasons for tackling the climate change disaster.
However, in Chitral district the ongoing awareness among the youth regarding climate change is very hopeful for a positive future. Climate change and its implications are discussed everywhere. The local communities are also taking initiatives for the protection of forests, green pastures, and afforestation projects. The local community of Ayun valley of lower Chitral is the best example of it. The whole community protested against the timber mafia, and the corrupt bureaucrats to protect their forests against deforestation. And there are many other examples that can be found regarding the positive impact of climate change awareness among the Chitrali people.
As a community member of Chitral, it is evident that GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) is the first and the most concerned Climatic problem of Chitral. Chitral is among those areas of Pakistan where a vast amount of small and large glaciers exist. About 52% of the glaciers cover nearly 13% of the area of the district. These majestic glaciers are the main source of fresh water and Chitral river. In the recent ten years, global warming impact has also been seen in Chitral. The major large glaciers are shrinking and the less snowfall in winter has created the problem of water scarcity in major remote areas of the lower and upper districts.
The increase in Chitral’s average temperature is the primary cause of these issues. During summer, temperatures often reach 40°C to 42°C, significantly higher than the usual 35°C to 38°C. This rise in temperature is the main reason for GLOF and the shrinking of glaciers. Areas near the glaciers have been devastated by GLOF for many years.
The beautiful Sonoghur valley is a prime example of this devastation. Once a picturesque valley, it was completely destroyed by GLOF, forcing the people and surviving animals to migrate to other parts of Chitral. This tragedy has also affected other beautiful areas of Chitral, including Boni, Ayun, Garum Chashma, Bumborat, Brep, and Golain. These areas, once renowned for their beauty and greenery, are now deserted. The majority of the population has relocated due to the ongoing threat of GLOF, and this trend is expected to continue in the future
In 2023 and the last week of July this year, different areas of Chitral were hit by GLOF, making the Chitral river extremely dangerous. A high level of flooding was recorded in the Chitral river, washing away roads, valleys, bridges, and buildings nearby. Even the Chitral Bazaar was in danger, and people near Chipul Bazaar were completely evacuated. In some areas like Ayun, the Chitral river filled up like a dam, washing away major buildings, bridges, link roads, and irrigated lands. The district jail of Chitral near Danin was also in danger again.
It is very difficult to curtail problems related to GOLF in Chitral but some positive initiative can help us to reduce the damage concerning it. For this, it is very important to understand direct and indirect factors about it. The rise in the average local temperature is the main reason for GLOF and it is due to the phenomenon of global warming.. Local phenomena like deforestation, increase in population and unsustainable development are also contributing to the GLOF. However deforestation is the major environmental cause of Glof in Chitral. From 1991 to 2023 the forest cover in Chitral has decreased 11.45% with the rate of 0.44%. Chitral forest departments, corrupt officers, and timber mafia are the successful contributors to deforestation in Chitral.
It is evident that the corrupt government officers of different institutions are directly involved in the smuggling of timber woods. The hospital ambulances, NGOs and government vehicles are used for smuggling to other areas of Pakistan. Some relevant people have said that the timber has been smuggled to middle east countries and other parts of the world. And the mafias are still making money from timber smuggling.Overpopulation, urbanization and lower city migrations are also a reason for deforestation in Chitral. Certainly, the uncontrolled use of timber and wood for construction, cooking and heating is also leading to depletion of forest and trees. Recent construction and widening of roads are also responsible for removing different types of trees from the roads. And according to a survey, almost forty to fifty thousand trees are going to be cut down on the extension of different roads in Chitral.
Although the simple solution to stop deforestation is Chitral, it is empowering its local government system and local community regarding climate change. In Pakistan the local government has never been empowered by the political elites. Although the provincial and the federal government never focus on transfer of power and authority to the local level. Certainly, to stop deforestation in Chitral; community engagement is very important. According to some reports, the forest department of Chitral has been successful in some areas of Chitral regarding the source of the forest and wildlife department of Chitral.
The other initiatives like, reforestations, shrubs and millet plantation at high altitude, green pastures protection, fruit plantation and provision of free electricity for cooking and heating can help to restrain the problem of climate change and global warming. These initiatives are also important for the protection of Chitral from flash floods. The flesh flood is also a major climate problem in Chitral. In recent years, Chitral has been facing the problem of cloud bursts and heavy rainfall in multiple areas of Chitral. This led to a heavy flash flood in different areas of Chitral. Even during the month of July, and August this flash flood increases the level of flood to its extreme position. And this is happening due to the amalgamation of Glof and Flash flood in Chitral river. In the history of Chitral, the years 2023 and 2024 stand out as prime examples of how the Chitral River caused significant issues for various regions within Chitral.
This issue related to flooding in Chitral river can be solved through multiple initiatives like construction of small dams and artificial lakes. The small dams are very useful for protection and control of floods in rivers but it takes time and more resources. Although small dams disrupt the natural flow of water, they cause additional problems for animals, agriculture, and the people living near the river.The best way to control river flooding is by creating artificial lakes.
These lakes act as controlled storage areas for excess water during periods of heavy rainfall or snowmelt. By capturing and holding this excess water, artificial lakes can reduce the risk of downstream flooding. The whole world is now working on this and the European countries are also destroying the dams in the river to mitigate the problem of flooding and controlling the natural flow of water. These artificial lakes can be very useful for tourism and economic purposes and while in winter the lake soil, sand and gravels can be used for agriculture and construction purposes. The areas of Chitral, like Yarkhon, Mastuj, Boni, Saidabad, Dorsh, and other areas are very useful for the creation of artificial lakes to control flood in Chitral river.
The third problem of climate change in Chitral is the unconditional weather pattern. Since 2010, the weather pattern of Chitral has completely changed. The Chitral district average temperature has increased from 4C to 6C. The winters are mostly snowless, some areas have faced extremely drought conditions and hot temperatures in summer due to less rainfall and snowfall..But in recent years the weather response of Chitral was totally different. The winter was snowless and warm, but in March and April, Chitral faced heavy rainfall. This created an emergency situation, with roads being blocked multiple times. Some areas suffered from soil erosion, and multiple homes were partially or completely destroyed.
Certainly, climate change is a factual phenomena in Pakistan. The top leadership should take this seriously. The effective climate policy with the input of all stakeholders and its implementation can be a win-win situation for pakistan. The empowering of the provinces and local governments and strengthening the institution of NDMA, PDMA and LDMA will help to mitigate the problem of climate changes. Using social and digital media and the internet can revolutionize positive change towards nature, and the environment. Saminors, Symposium, and climate discussion on different institutions can also play an important role for the awareness of the coming generation towards it.
In essence, it is very important to protect our Chitral from climate change disasters. To educate, youth and the upcoming generation regarding the protection of nature, and environment is very important for their sustainable future. The protection of forests, green postures and tree plantations can be a simple and useful solution to mitigate the problem of climate change. I hope the next generation will be deeply committed to preserving this beautiful valley
