My friend remarked on the rains in May, little did he know that it is not something to feel happy about, rather it is a serious concern. These are signs of climate change, a change about which we have no trepidations.
Do we have a strategy to tackle the challenges that would arise? The
answer is ‘no’. Do we have a semblance of a plan to deal with any possible consequences of climate change? The answer would be no again. While the whole world is going crazy about climate change, declaring it to be the gravest issue of the 21st century, we don’t bother toeven consider it.
Climate change is a grave issue, but the real concern lies in our apathy and neglect. We don’t seem bothered about the adverse effect of climate change. It appears our policy makers consider it to be a figment of our imagination, something from science fiction, or at best something in a very distant future. I hate to disappoint them climate change is not fiction it is real! It is not something that might happen in the future, it is happening right now. We are not prepared for it and that is what frightens me the most!
SYED USMAN SHAH,
Lahore, May 12.