Solid waste disposal and collection system in Pakistan

Solid Waste is basically defined as a material which has no value for the people, the people themselves are responsible for this trash and is not carried through sewerage pipes and as the name suggests is in solid form. There are a number of sources from which solid waste is generated, distribution of solid waste varies from area to area, and few of them are; Domestic, Commercial, Industrial, healthcare, agricultural and mineral extraction activities and accumulates in houses and other places.

Solid Waste Management System in Pakistan

Some other keywords that are considered as similar to this include Garbage, trash and rubbish.
Now if we talk about the management of this solid waste, termed as solid waste management, we mean it as generation, separation, collection, transfer, transportation and disposal of waste in a way that takes into account public health, economics, conservation, aesthetics, and the environment, and is responsive to public demands.

Common Types of Waste mostly generated 

The most common types of solid waste are:
• Municipal solid waste
• Industrial waste
• Agricultural waste
• Hazardous waste
The solid waste composition varies from region to region and time to time. There are following different types of waste.
Biodegradable waste i.e. could be decomposed naturally such as food and kitchen waste, green waste, paper, etc.
Recyclable material i.e. could be recycled again and again; such as paper, glass, bottles, cans, metals, certain plastics ,fabrics, clothes, batteries etc.
Inert waste i.e. not liable to decompose; such as construction and demolition waste, dirt, rocks, debris, etc.
Electrical and electronic waste (WEEE); such as electrical appliances, TVs, computers, screens, etc.
Composite wastes; such as waste clothing, Tetra Packs, waste plastic, etc.

Domestic hazardous waste & toxic waste medication; such as paints, chemicals, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, spray cans, fertilizer and pesticide containers, shoe polish, etc.

Failure of SWM in Pakistan

The consequences of failure of this solid waste management system are disastrous for the health of the community and the smooth running of life in that region. Some common problems as seen because of this failure includes, land and air pollution, blockage of drains and water pollution in natural streams.
Factors affecting solid waste management
The success or failure of this management system is dependent on many factors and many areas are there to be considered like public awareness because you can’t hold of the garbage thrown every second on the local street by the so-called educated humans, similarly due to increase of population there is an unplanned city growth that causes troubles and difficulties for the authorities to handle such a large amount of garbage. Mostly in cities and municipalities in Pakistan there are although no proper system of disposal management or even if it is there the maintenance and proper functioning are not up to the mark. The other very important factor to be considered is the rate of urbanization with the advancements and development in countries the communities are shifting from rural areas and urban areas and thus more utilization of advance products and thus more garbage is there.

Solid Waste Collection system in Pakistan and its effects

In Pakistan the absence of a proper solid waste disposal system and huge amount of uncollected wastes posses great threat to the public health as they are the source of mosquitoes and cholera which transmit malaria and cholera later on. One of a very hazardous and un-noticed drawback of the waste disposal in Pakistan is that hospital and industrial waste is treated as ordinary waste.
The condition of waste management system from the collection of waste to its proper disposal is, to put it mildly, pathetic in Pakistan. Only 50% of solid waste quantities generated are collected by government services. However, for cities to be clean, at least 70% of these quantities should be collected.

Increase in the solid waste is due to increase in urban population, industrialization, changing consumption pattern and also effluent life style. Due to these trends many cities are unable to cope with increase volume of solid waste, especially in middle and low income countries. During the late period of 1900’s annual waste production ranged from 300-800 kg per person in many developed countries to less than 200 per kg per person in less developed countries.

In Pakistan solid waste management is a significant problem being faced. Despite of the fact that there are many polices being formulated for the protection of the environment from solid waste but these policies are only implemented in cities. In rural areas of Pakistan mostly open dumping is done.

A number of municipalities have deployed sweepers for waste collection but the service is reported to be irregular and limited to prominent administrative or commercial areas. Citizens are not provided with enough rubbish bins. In fact, those bins can only be found along the main roads. Those who live further away prefer not to take the trouble: the majority of home waste ends up being thrown away on empty plots.
Solid Waste Management consists of various stages including primary collection that is done from house hold to dust bin sites manually. Secondary collection is done from dust bin sites to land fill sites mechanically and final disposal is at landfill sites.

Integrated Solid Waste management (ISWM) is a combination of those activities that best protects the community itself and environment. For ISWM a sustainable approach is required by giving the stake holders to participate in the process of ISWM and share their responsibilities.

Some of the significant features of solid waste management shows that the composition of solid waste in Pakistan that comes from different sources have a high percentage of organic waste, that can be recovered via composting and recycling. In most cities of Pakistan poor collection and transportation of municipal solid waste is reported.

The estimated quantity of solid waste generation in Pakistan ranges between 0.283 to 0.612 kg / capital / day and waste generation growth rate is 2.4 percentages per year.  Due to poor solid waste management there are large number of communicable diseases and unhygienic environment being created.

Much of the uncollected waste ultimately finds its way into empty plots, farming land, pits and ponds. It creates an ideal environment for flies and mosquitoes to dwell on and is not only harmful for the people living in that area, but also for plants and animals.
In Pakistan Solid Waste management has not been carried out in proper manner and the condition is getting worse by the time. The major problem causing factors are rate of urbanization, composition of waste, scavenger role for recyclable separation and the capacities of existing municipalities for solid waste management.
For the change of attitude and behavior of public, education and awareness is very important. For this purpose we may use different strategies, e.g., education session for common man regarding disposal of garbage. By this way we can educate the common man regarding how they can play their role in solid waste management.

Conclusion and Recommendations

The recommendations that can be considered for the improvement of the current situation regarding solid waste management in Pakistan includes, raising awareness about consequences caused by solid waste pollution, role of government sector, NGO’s, Private sector collectively for solid waste management, legislation should be done which would be effective and find ways to implement it effectively, application of 3R’s (Reduce, Recycle and Reuse) concept in solid waste management. House to house collection of solid waste should be organized. Littering of solid waste should be prohibited in cities, towns and urban areas. Proper segregation would be vital for scientific disposal of waste. Developing legal framework and national guidelines for solid waste management that includes waste management rules and basic recycling rules.

Environmental Issues in University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila

University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, situated at approximately 40 km from twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, had received its charter as an independent University in October 1993, prior to which it was the campus of University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, occupying the land of Sahiwal as its first temporary destination after which it was shifted to its permanent destination of Taxila, the ancient, historical icon of Pakistan.

University of engineering and technology, Taxila

The simple yet eye-catching departments, administrative blocks, mosques, markets, hostel blocks, laboratories, library, cafeterias and bus stand constitutes the campus of University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila. The University Buses meets departure and arrival daily taking numbers of students from all around the cities of Rawalpindi, Wah Cantt and Islamabad. This first ever institution of its own type in Taxila covers an area of 163 acres.
University, an educational institution in any country or city is considered as a socio-economic and cultural center or hub. UET, also servers this purpose thus has a significant impact on the environment of the city.

While leaving the hustle and bustle of Rawalpindi, Islamabad you feel a significant change in your surroundings regarding, traffic volume, the sound of horns of vehicles, construction machinery, cranes, rollers and timber market around the roads, engineering societies being developed in the locality, world class level Multi-Garden Sector of Islamabad, heavy vehicles transporting goods, construction materials like aggregates, bricks cements, cement factories, beverage factories, flour mills and then from Taxila by-pass you enter the Taxila Cantt, leaving the main Taxila Bazar near Wah Cantt, Gate, you saw crushers, eating and crushing the aggregates from the mountains on your left side, trucks transporting them along with the dust clouds and a voice of Blasting after every hour or so, then you enter the surroundings of UET, Taxila after crossing Taxila By-Pass, surrounding by the green lush fields the local road is marked by tall green waving trees of Safaida, you see the ancient Dhara Mara Chiga Stupa, Taxila Museum, Remainings of Sirkup is enough for you to understand how ancient and civilized this locality is.
In this environmental Impact report for university of engineering and technology our main concern would be on following areas;

•    Water supply and Sewerage Systems
•    Soild Waste Management
•    Air Quality – Indoor And Out door
•    Noise Level
•    Cultural Environment
•    Religious Environment
•    Socio-Economic
•    Landscape
•    Flora and Fauna
•    New Development

Water Supply and Sewerage System

Importance of water can never be neglected as far as the sustainability of life is concerned. UET, Taxila water supply scheme is taking care of all the departments including electrical, mechanical, civil, telecom, IT department, besides these administrative buildings, mosques, library, cafeteria, laboratories, hostels, faculty houses and worker houses. Major share of this water supply scheme is being consumed by residential buildings and as the city is not as much developed comparatively as other cities of Pakistan, this water is sometimes the major problem for university especially in summers.
Water supply scheme of university consists of a well – planned central over-head water tank, and high power tube wells one beside the computer/software department, and water-treatment and filtration plant is there.
With the increase in the no. of students and faculty this water supply scheme needs expansion and increment in the storage capacity, for this new water reservoirs need to be explored and inputs of them needs to be included in the main streamline supply. For this Underground water can also be used by using auger boring techniques etc.
The problem of water availability is mostly faced by students residing in the hostels, because of shortage of water; there are lines of students in the morning waiting for their turn in the washrooms. Sometimes the motor get out of order and thus they need to live without water for a long time as well; for this proper backup system must be developed so as to shift the burden on the parallel water supply schemes.
Sewerage system of University is not up to the mark, in the central portion of the university, this is not such a big problem, the washrooms, and toilets are properly cleaned and maintained by the cleaning staff of university. Major problems are within hostels where students face problems like blockage of gutters etc, making the toilets useless. Thus, proper cleaning and maintenance is required.

 Solid Waste Management

The major portion of the waste is being shared by solid waste here in university, because the university houses hundreds of humans this justifies the reason of the increased production of solid waste. Solid waste of the university besides sewerage waste includes papers, tins, cans, shopping bags, wrappers, straws and toxic chemicals as well from the laboratories like silica, sulphur, waste concrete etc as well. University has Dustbins written with “Use Me” as caption to invite students, faculty and staff to throw the waste in it; but as a nation we are not that much responsible and caring to throw them in always; the societies in the university like Environmental Protection Society is working to encourage the proper disposal and recycling of solid waste and on the same grounds increasing the awareness among students and faculty to dispose off the waste properly.
The waste from the hostels, residential buildings and departments is not properly disposed off it is open dumped which is totally against the law and environmental ethics; thus there is a need for proper disposal site to be constructed;  so as to eliminate the open dumping and throwing the waste in the near bear streams as is done now a days.

Air Quality – Indoor And Out door

Air quality of the university and the city is being damaged by the nearby crushers and stone workers and nearby cement factory and flour mills, spreading dust particles, hazardous gases etc. Air quality of University is maintained by the trees and the grassy lawns along with the esthetic plants being planted in the university. The bus stand is the most dusty place of university which is not even cemented yet; the buses when runs over spreads a lot of dust causing problems for students.
In the departments especially in civil engineering laboratories and environmental engineering laboratories the use of toxic chemicals, burning of bitumen, burning of sulfur for concrete caping, dust of sand and soil, damages the indoor air quality significantly which must be checked and the effect of these factors must be diluted so as to create a healthy environment for the students to work in.

Noise Level

Although some times this factor can’t be eliminated completely but yet it is very important factor for any educational and health facility. In UET, the departments have their parking areas very near and thus the horn and sounds of car engines create problems some times. Similarly buses were first used to crawl in front of the departments while leaving; this has been checked and now the buses have provided the proper separate path to use while departure.
 

One very astonishing feature in the noise level of university is the blasting sound you usually listen due to the near aggregate quarries behind the main university campus. Use of Grass cutting machines and tankers to water the grass and plants sometimes causes irritation among students while studying.

One very important factor creating noise pollution in the departments is the machineries being used especially in mechanical and civil department; the use of machines for testing of materials; their strength etc. always include breaking of a high strength steel or concrete or any other metal or alloy which produces very etching effects and produces echo and behavioral changes in the staff and students.
One very common example one can observe is in the library; although library is meant to be a silent and reading spot; but few months back when someone enters in the library the echo produced from the steps of the person creates very bad effect in the students studying; but now the use of sound absorbers like partitioning and carpeting of floors have ultimately helped to create a good learning silent environment there.
  Laboratories can be shifted or constructed at a distant far off of the main departments so as to avoid such factors, parking area must also be at a distant far off from the department. Use of machineries for cutting of grass etc must be avoided near the peak working hours.

Cultural Environment

UET, Taxila, can be treated as a cultural hub of Punjab, Pakistan. Giving chances to all the students from around the world like Afghanistan, Jordan etc. and on the same trend from all the province of Punjab and other Provinces as well. UET is much diversified as far as cultural environment is concerned. You will see different peoples of different languages, different colors, castes, religions and nationalities working hard to uplift the standard of not only their lives but the life of other humans as well.
When UET, Taxila was not there, no one might have imagined such a cultural fusion to be there living in Taxila, similarly because of being its locality in an ancient, civilized culture of Taxila, UET, get significant importance in this respect as well.
People visiting the university get amused on how among such a rich ancient heritage, there is a top level public university equipped with all modern techniques of engineering and technology.
One will feel pleasure to see cultural events and occasions like spring festival etc.

Religious Environment

Majority of People in UET, being Muslims thus we see rich religious environment there as well. There are prayer halls in the university departments and in hostels as well; beside this there is a fully functional, modern and stylish building of Central Mosque, along with other small Mosques in the locality of University. The different Schools of Thoughts of Islam being practiced here and no such religious extremism is being noticed in the campus; ever one is free to practice his/her own religion or believes. 
Because of rich cultural environment of university, there are also persons from different religions like Hinduism, Christianity etc. And they are free to celebrate their religious event or occasions like Muslims do.
One can easily see in university, although co-education but very strict as far as interaction between girls and boys is concerned. Violation of any social ethics is being penalized by the university administration. Similarly the gender equality is being taught by Islam, is being seen in practical as girls being taking part in relatively tough fields like mechanical, civil engineering etc.
But sometimes there are also clash being observed among modest and modern thoughts in the society; one very common example is the strike being done by the students to let them celebrate their religious days like “Yom-e-Husaain” etc. Students having viewpoint that if University administration can allow celebration of events like concerts and “Valentine Day” they must allow us to celebrate these Islamic Occasions as well; and university administration having viewpoint that such events might cause religious clash among different school of thoughts.
The Religious Harmony should be practiced no matter what ever the occasion is; one must feel safe to practice his own religion in his own domain; without disturbing the religious believes and religious morals of others. For this university administration must come forward to have a systematic plan to check any inconvenience regarding this matter.

Socio-Economic

One of the very important impacts university has on the environment is socio-economic impact. The local inhabitants of the region have got chance to get employment there; and not only this the Taxila region also has a separate Quota for the students to get educated in the university.
Students coming from other cities get a chance to know about Taxila and similarly the inhabitants of Taxila get a chance to meet students and peoples of different languages, origins, caste and colors. So in this way UET can be taken as a medium to let others meet and do something productive.
The grant which university has along with the dues that is being charged on the students let the locality to uplift its standard economically and socially. Thus we see the bazaars near Taxila Bus stop which is very near to UET, and other dhabas on the gate of UET, and a market being developed at the gate no. 2 of university.
The foreign students get a chance to know about Pakistan, their people and their culture and thus university is acting like a ambassador of Pakistan spreading its rich culture and heritage.
 University acts like an important icon as far as the economic standard of the locality is concerned. Students, faculty and other staff from other parts of the country bring money and economic growth to the region.
Landscape
UET, Taxila is surrounding by a very eye-catching landscape consisting of mountains and green lush fields and tress spreading fragrance and cold shadows. The area which is covered by UET, Taxila was mostly barren land of no use; there were trees and vast grassy land that is now being developed into a planned city in its own.
In winters and during rainy seasons the sky kissing mountains at the back of UET looks adorable. But the aggregate crushers are removing this beauty from the region. In UET, Taxila every year the planting schemes and ceremonies are conducted to encourage the rich green environment in the university. The lawn designing competition being held in university helps in uplifting the landscaping standard. UET has proper staff that is taking care of cutting the grass and useless branches to enhance the aesthetics of the campus.
Departments have beautiful lawns which are covered by high dense green trees along with colorful, sweet fragrance flowers of various ornamental classes etc.
There are still a lot of regions that is being neglected as far as landscaping is concerned; like the land near the cafeteria and the land near the mosque need much improvement in the landscaping. Although the Gardening staff is doing its best to ensure the proper maintenance of the landscape but still many areas are ignored and we saw a lot of grass being scattered and out of order.

Flora and Fauna

Because of the very rich landscape of UET, you can see a lot of varieties of flowers, roses etc, trees of various origins, green lush grass of various types. Because of all these reasons birds of various species can be seen in the university living happily, along with wild dogs and cats that can be seen even in the mess hall as well.
Although these wild animals shows how healthy the environment is for life but still sometimes they causes problems, thus there must be proper planned nurseries for them where they can live without damaging the life of humans or disturbing them.
New Development
Although in UET, the facilities are very sufficient but with the increase in no. of students, departments, faculty, staff, there is need of new hostels and faculty hostels, along with new buildings for separate classes of new departments. Like in Mechanical engineering, the industrial engineering department is using the class rooms of mechanical engineering; same is the case for electronics and environmental engineering classes.
UET, Taxila needs new auditorium, because the conference hall is not sufficient to house large no. of visitors or participants. In Past few years the infrastructure of university has build enormously, new Cafeteria, new department of Telecommunication, improvement in the library interior, new multipurpose hall or gymnasium are among some new developed buildings in the university campus.
But still there is a need of management department, new hostel for boys as the new comers are not getting housing in the already build hostels, improvements in water supply scheme of university.

Conclusion and Recommendation

University of Engineering and Technology, is really a nice place to study in. Facilities are up to the mark but still much improvement in maintenance work is needed. The administration needs to take care of campus problems and building and works department must make sure to control all the infrastructure and facilities in the campus, all the problems like water shortage, power shortage, residence problems for the students, solid waste disposal must be checked in so as to uplift the standard of university along with creating a healthy environment where human brain can think openly and can be productive in the same manner as well.




   

Rain water harvesting and water scarcity problem in Pakistan

The following paragraphs will explain a thing that will let anyone to easily say at the end that the problem always born while taking the solution within itself. The problem we were trying to get the rid off is basically “Water Scarcity” problem, it defines the shortage of water not due to the lack of water but because of mismanagement and lack of planning we lost it very cheaply.

Rain Water Harvesting Tank Installed in House

In order to get converted any problem we need to find a long lasting and feasible solution, the solution which we have found as a result of our research, surveys, study, visits, calculation is Rain water harvesting.

Rain water harvesting a combination of three words is a modern efficient technique to store rainwater in a considerable magnitude in a manner that is always helpful for the victims. 

The water which is commonly wasted through ducts installed on the roofs of the residential, commercial or any other structure is commonly and mostly wasted through ducts and drains off without any usage and suitable advantage. In the solution of this problem we just installed storage tanks that can be underground or above the ground to let the rain water be stored in an efficient way.

The problem of water scarcity is basically because of urbanization, a social phenomenon that lets the rural areas got converted into urban areas, because in urban areas the ground is mostly covered with cemented carpeting that does not let the rainwater to percolated in the soil and reach the underground water tank as its ultimate destination, what happens because of urbanization is; that rainwater is wasted without being used in the form of evaporated water, although water is never wasted but for that land when water is evaporated before its proper usage  it is in waste, Which also causes flooding in the streets and in the urban developed areas of the country.

So to stop it we need to build Inverted recharge wells, this idea in Pakistan has been introduced by CDA(Capital Development Authority) Islamabad, the Deputy Director General of CDA Shahid Sohail, said that this system has been installed behind Faisal mosque and are basically the concrete made underground water reservoirs that has a bore hole with in its core center through which a pipe is installed so as to guide the excessive water in to the ground to help in percolation of water.

Now the question arises why should we do rainwater harvesting, in fact rainwater harvesting is the cheapest of all available methods. It is easy to understand and easy to install it is efficient in economy and efficient in working as well.

In a nutshell we can say that the water scarcity problem can be easily avoided by proper planning and doing rainwater harvesting on the victim areas. It will ensure a solution that will never let you down, and will always have some output to help you out in the rainy days when you don’t have water in your buckets but have water in your eyes.

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Global Warming and Climate Change efftects, reasons and differences

First let us talk about the brief introduction about what is global warming, what is climate change; what is the relationship between these two. Now for very common meanings Global warming may be defined as;

    “A gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the green house effect caused by increase levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants”

global warming

Global Warming and Climate Change

Concept of greenhouse effect and green house gases

The sun, of course, is the ultimate source of heat energy reaching the Earth, fueling our weather systems, and establishing our major climate zones. There is, however, good evidence that larger variations in the sun's activity do occur. For example, during the last half of the 17th century, there was a period of greatly reduced solar activity.

Our atmosphere consists of many gases; some of these gases, such as carbon dioxide and water vapor, naturally absorb long-wave radiation that is emitted from the earth’s surface. Short-wave solar radiation enters the earth’s atmosphere and is absorbed by the earth’s surface. This radiation is then recycled and emitted as long wave terrestrial radiation. Gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb this radiation, hold it in the atmosphere, and keep the temperature of the earth warmer than it would otherwise be if there wasn’t an atmosphere. This is what meteorologists refer to as the “Natural Greenhouse effect”

How greenhouse gases causes global warming

This natural greenhouse effect has a balance and thus the earth is able to provide such an environment on which life can sustain; however human activities add additional trace gases into the atmosphere that causes problems; these additional trace gases absorb-out going long-wave radiation. These additional trace gases include methane, chlorofloro carbons, nitrous oxide, aerosols, zone,

The result is an increase in the amount of long-wave radiation that is being trapped by the atmosphere. It is believed that this could eventually increase the average overall global temperature.


Carbon dioxide "...is considered the trace gas of greatest importance because of the substantial increase in its atmospheric concentration as well as its probable continued rise due to global consumption of fossil fuels".

Due to these additional trace gases; earth’s mean surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 0 c, with about two-thirds of the increase occurring since 1980.

Introduction to climate change

Climate is defined as the analysis of accumulated weather data for long term patterns and trends. Climate change is therefore defined as "long-term weather patterns and trends becoming different over an extended period of time." For example, if the average temperature in Pakistan over the 20th century is significantly higher or lower than the average temperature in Pakistan, over the 19th century, this would be an example of climate change. Thus climate change can be defined as;

“a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards, attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.”

Global Warming Vs Climate Change

 'global warming' and 'climate change". In reality, the two terms mean different things, have both been used for decades.

Both of the terms in question are used frequently in the scientific literature, because they refer to two different physical phenomena.  As the name suggests, 'global warming' refers to the long-term trend of a rising average global temperature, which you can see here:

'Climate change', again as the name suggests, refers to the changes in the global climate which result from the increasing average global temperature.  For example, changes in precipitation patterns, increased prevalence of droughts, heat waves, and other extreme weather, etc.  These projections of future global precipitation changes from the 2007 IPCC report are an example of climate change.

How climate change and global warming is detected?

In general there are 10 indicators with the help of which we can detect climate change and global warming. There are 7 indicators that would be expected to increase in a warming world and 3 indicators would be expected to decrease;

Causes of Global Warming and Climate Change:

Changes in climate can result from both natural events and human activities. Examples of natural causes of climate change are volcanic eruptions, variations in the earth's orbit around the sun, and variations in solar output. Examples of human-induced causes of climate change include industrial pollutants and fossil fuels, warming of average annual temperatures due to urbanization, and changes in the earth's albedo due to deforestation of tropical rainforests. Climate change in the context of this paper refers to changes that result from human activities, especially as these changes relate to the issue of global warming. Of special importance is the "greenhouse gas" effect which is defined as, "The trapping of thermal emissions from the earth's surface by human-induced greenhouse gases”. If global warming is indeed happening, it is the greenhouse gas effect that is believed to be the most responsible.

Earth’s temperature depends on the balance between energy entering and leaving the planet’s system . When incoming energy from the sun is absorbed by the Earth system, Earth warms. When the sun’s energy is reflected back into space, Earth avoids warming. When energy is released back into space, Earth cools. Many factors, both natural and human, can cause changes in Earth’s energy balance, including:

·         Changes in the greenhouse effect, which affects the amount of heat retained by Earth’s atmosphere

·         Variations in the sun’s energy reaching Earth

·         Changes in the reflectivity of Earth’s atmosphere and surface

Since the Industrial Revolution began around 1750, human activities have contributed substantially to climate change by adding CO2 and other heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. These greenhouse gas emissions have increased the greenhouse effect and caused Earth’s surface temperature to rise. The primary human activity affecting the amount and rate of climate change is greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels.

Green House Gases, sources, and participation in rising of global weather

The most important Green House Gases directly emitted by humans include CO2, CH4, nitrous oxide (N2O), and several others. The sources and recent trends of these gases are detailed below.

Carbon Di oxide CO2

Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas that is contributing to recent climate change. CO2 is absorbed and emitted naturally as part of the carbon cycle, through animal and plant respiration, volcanic eruptions, and ocean-atmosphere exchange. Human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels and changes in land use, release large amounts of carbon to the atmosphere, causing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere to rise.

Methane

Methane is produced through both natural and human activities. For example, natural wetlands, agricultural activities, and fossil fuel extraction and transport all emit CH4.

Methane is more abundant in Earth’s atmosphere now than at any time in at least the past 650,000 years. Due to human activities, CH4 concentrations increased sharply during most of the 20th century and are now more than two-and-a-half times pre-industrial levels. In recent decades, the rate of increase has slowed considerably.

Nitrous oxide

Nitrous oxide is produced through natural and human activities, mainly through agricultural activities and natural biological processes. Fuel burning and some other processes also create N2O. Concentrations of N2O have risen approximately 18% since the start of the Industrial Revolution, with a relatively rapid increase towards the end of the 20th century. In contrast, the atmospheric concentration of N2O varied only slightly for a period of 11,500 years before the onset of the industrial period, as shown by ice core samples. For more information on N2O emissions and sources, and actions that can reduce emissions,

Water Vapor

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas and also the most important in terms of its contribution to the natural greenhouse effect, despite having a short atmospheric lifetime. Some human activities can influence local water vapor levels. However, on a global scale, the concentration of water vapor is controlled by temperature, which influences overall rates of evaporation and precipitation.  Therefore, the global concentration of water vapor is not substantially affected by direct human emissions.

Ozone

Tropospheric ozone (O3), which also has a short atmospheric lifetime, is a potent greenhouse gas. Chemical reactions create ozone from emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from automobiles, power plants, and other industrial and commercial sources in the presence of sunlight. In addition to trapping heat, ozone is a pollutant that can cause respiratory health problems and damage crops and ecosystems.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), together called F-gases, are often used in coolants, foaming agents, fire extinguishers, solvents, pesticides, and aerosol propellants. Unlike water vapor and ozone, these F-gases have a long atmospheric lifetime, and some of these emissions will affect the climate for many decades or centuries.

 Change in Reflectivity characteristic of atmosphere due to human activities

Human changes in land use and land cover have changed Earth’s reflectivity. Processes such as deforestation, reforestation, desertification, and urbanization often contribute to changes in climate in the places they occur. These effects may be significant regionally, but are smaller when averaged over the entire globe. In addition, human activities have generally increased the number of aerosol particles in the atmosphere. Overall, human-generated aerosols have a net cooling effect offsetting about one-third of the total warming effect associated with human greenhouse gas emissions. Reductions in overall aerosol emissions can therefore lead to more warming. However, targeted reductions in black carbon emissions can reduce warming.

Impact or effects of global warming and climate change

Our lives are connected to the climate. Human societies have adapted to the relatively stable climate we have enjoyed since the last ice age which ended several thousand years ago. A warming climate will bring changes that can affect our water supplies, agriculture, power and transportation systems, the natural environment, and even our own health and safety. Carbon dioxide can stay in the atmosphere for nearly a century, so Earth will continue to warm in the coming decades. The warmer it gets, the greater the risk for more severe changes to the climate and Earth's system. Although it's difficult to predict the exact impacts of climate change, what's clear is that the climate we are accustomed to is no longer a reliable guide for what to expect in the future.

Effects of global warming and climate change can be observed in the following fields;

Agriculture

Agriculture and fisheries are highly dependent on specific climate conditions. Trying to understand the overall effect of climate change on our food supply can be difficult. Increases in temperature and carbon dioxide (CO2) can be beneficial for some crops in some places. But to realize these benefits, nutrient levels, soil moisture, water availability, and other conditions must also be met. Changes in the frequency and severity of droughts and floods could pose challenges for farmers and ranchers. Meanwhile, warmer water temperatures are likely to cause the habitat ranges of many fish and shellfish species to shift, which could disrupt ecosystems. Overall, climate change could make it more difficult to grow crops, raise animals, and catch fish in the same ways and same places as we have done in the past. The effects of climate change also need to be considered along with other evolving factors that affect agricultural production, such as changes in farming practices and technology.

Coasts

Climate change could affect coastal areas in a variety of ways. Coasts are sensitive to sea level rise, changes in the frequency and intensity of storms, increases in precipitation, and warmer ocean temperatures. In addition, rising atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) are causing the oceans to absorb more of the gas and become more acidic. This rising acidity could have significant impacts on coastal and marine ecosystems.

The impacts of climate change are likely to worsen many problems that coastal areas already face. Shoreline erosion, coastal flooding, and water pollution affect man-made infrastructure and coastal ecosystems. Confronting existing challenges is already a concern. Addressing the additional stress of climate change may require new approaches to managing land, water, waste, and ecosystems.

Ecosystems

Climate is an important environmental influence on ecosystems. Climate changes and the impacts of climate change affect ecosystems in a variety of ways. For instance, warming could force species to migrate to higher latitudes or higher elevations where temperatures are more conducive to their survival. Similarly, as sea level rises, saltwater intrusion into a freshwater system may force some key species to relocate or die, thus removing predators or prey that were critical in the existing food chain.

Energy

Energy plays an important role in many aspects of our lives. For example, we use electricity for lighting and cooling. We use fuel for transportation, heating, and cooking. Our energy production and use is interconnected with many other aspects of modern life, such as water consumption, use of goods and services, transportation, economic growth, land use, and population growth. Our production and use of energy (most of which comes from fossil fuels) also contributes to climate change.

Forests

Climate changes directly and indirectly affect the growth and productivity of forests: directly due to changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate and indirectly through complex interactions in forest ecosystems. Climate also affects the frequency and severity of many forest disturbances.

In conjunction with the projected impacts of climate change, forests face impacts from land development, suppression of natural periodic forest fires, and air pollution. Although it is difficult to separate the effects of these different factors, the combined impact is already leading to changes in our forests. As these changes are likely to continue in the decades ahead, some of the valuable goods and services provided by forests may be compromised.

Human Health

Weather and climate play a significant role in people's health. Changes in climate affect the average weather conditions that we are accustomed to. Warmer average temperatures will likely lead to hotter days and more frequent and longer heat waves. This could increase the number of heat-related illnesses and deaths. Increases in the frequency or severity of extreme weather events such as storms could increase the risk of dangerous flooding, high winds, and other direct threats to people and property. Warmer temperatures could increase the concentrations of unhealthy air and water pollutants. Changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and extreme events could enhance the spread of some diseases.

Water Resources and glaciers

Water resources are important to both society and ecosystems. We depend on a reliable, clean supply of drinking water to sustain our health. We also need water for agriculture, energy production, navigation, recreation, and manufacturing.

Many of these uses put pressure on water resources, stresses that are likely to be exacerbated by climate change. In many areas, climate change is likely to increase water demand while shrinking water supplies. This shifting balance would challenge water managers to simultaneously meet the needs of growing communities, sensitive ecosystems, farmers, ranchers, energy producers, and manufacturers.

In some areas, water shortages will be less of a problem than increases in runoff, flooding, or sea level rise. These effects can reduce the quality of water and can damage the infrastructure that we use to transport and deliver water.

Effect of Global Warming in Pakistan

Change of Raining Pattern

Global warming and climate change has a significant effect on raining pattern. Monsoon Rains in Pakistan is the major rainfall season in Pakistan which has been adversely effected by the climate change, the moon soon season has not only shifted but the intensity of rainfall and area or region has also changed, last year 1400 died in floods, 13,000,000 people displaced.

Melting of Glaciers in Northern Areas in Pakistan

Due to the climate change and global warming, there is an overall increase in the climate of northern areas of Pakistan, this causes an increase in the rate with which glaciers melt; this reduces the Ice Reserves for our home country.Melting of glaciers not only causes floods but also causes agricultural losses, water shortages, massive droughts and food shortages.
Increase of Temperature

In the major cities of Pakistan like Karachi,  Islamabad, Rawalpindi, significant increase of temperature and climate can be observed;  as shown by the following graph of mean temperature trend;

Effect on Ecosystem, Human Health and Marine Life;

There is a widespread adverse health effects due to extreme weather conditions. Several loss of marine life due to reduction in mangrove forests

One of very significant effect as observed in Pakistan is the formation of artificial Attabad Lake in Baltistan due to severe land sliding and snow storm.

According to IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)study for  countries most at risk from climate related threats, Pakistan is  rated :

•        7th in flood,

•       12th in agriculture.

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Environmental Problems In Rawalpindi And Islamabad

Islamabad the Capital of Pakistan, is the land of green lush grass covered grounds and sky kissing high mountains of Margalla, Wide tree-lined streets, large houses, elegant public buildings and well organized bazaars, Rawalpindi the joined twin city of Islamabad is showing the face of old traditions, narrow streets, old architectural buildings. The two cities though very close but still have many features in different, like landscaping, local transport, quality of town planning, etc.

Environmental Problems

Like all other big cities these two cities house a huge population, beside many other reasons one reason being the community of small cities shifting there to get settle and earn a handsome income because of comparatively nice amount of employment opportunities. This increment of population by no means has an end, and not only is growing in number but speed also. This is how the main cause of “Environmental problems” in these cities is cited i.e. increment in population meaning increment in solid waste, increment in waste water, increment in noise pollution etc.

The time you left your house you find yourself in a dustbin, with number of shopping bags floating and flying in air, flies and mosquitoes disturbing you, waste water percolating the natural ground water polluting it and increasing the number of water born diseases in the inhabitants.

Like all other developing cities, these twin cities find difficulty in balancing between economic development and environmental protection. In fighting with the neighboring growing cities of the country these cities house no. of small and large scale factories, production houses, raw material sources and much more. With the increase in population the damage and severity of environmental issues increases.

Cutting of Forests

Reason for cutting of forest is many in number, like need of a place to construct building or construction of a pavement or highway like motorways, usage of wood as fuel, usage of wood as a construction material in mountainous areas etc. these all reasons have its validity in the locality of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. The importance of trees have no second opinion, we know their importance as far as the air quality and oxygen quantity is concerned besides other utilization like as a food source etc. In the twin cities, this problem though very similar but has a different to some extent, like Islamabad is a much green land then Rawalpindi where our eyes find greenery on few occasions distant a part. The main reason being the cutting of forest on the Hills of Margala. Increase of population means increase of construction which in turn means increase in cutting of trees. But Government has jumped in this situation to rescue the environmental quality of the region and has thus made a policy in 1992, in which the cutting of trees and forest was made illegal and was banned. But that policy doesn’t seem to have a success.

The local community because is more educated comparative to other cities of Pakistan, knows the importance of trees and occasionally we see seminars and plantation schemes motivating the inhabitants and let them know the importance of trees.

Thus in this regard the government must develop a significant policy in this regard, a strict legislation is required which will ensure how the community finds its responsibility in saving their environment by growing trees or cutting less trees. The balance must not get disturbed which means if for an unavoidable reason one has to cut a tree then one must find oneself responsible for growing two trees at least in return.     

Balance is very important as far as the environmental quality is concerned, as it is rightly said that excess of everything is bad, this statement also stands true in the growth of trees, as has experienced by the community of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. Some of the problems they face is a pollen allergy that is caused because of a paper mulberry, this plant is not native to Pakistan and is being imported, the Pollen of this plant causes problems for the local people and they have to leave the city in April and May,  beside this problem it also has one major drawback as well which is the usage of abundant water due to which the groundwater of the twin cities trickle down by 1 feet every year which is a very dangerous threat to the local government. But by increase of awareness about this plant the local government decided to cut down these plants and find out replacement.

Pollution from Factories

With the development and increment in the requirement of products for the community, the pollution is next problem being faced by twin cities. The factories severely damage the environment as well as the living standard of the community near that region but also have an impact on the far off regions in the long run. Factories creates noise pollution, the heavy duty vibrating machines not only makes it difficult for people to live near them, but also brings behavioral changes and brings psychological disturbance in them. Similarly these factories produce bundles of solid waste which is toxic as well and damages not only the land but also due to non-systematic dumping of the solid waste and liquid waste in the region; the underground water quality is also questionable.

Factories in the nearby industrial zones of the twin cities like Rawat Industrial Area houses numbers of factories producing steel, marble, leather products, some food items like banaspati ghee, oil and much more. Factories causing problems are oil refineries, textile mills, marble crushing unites, flour mills, soap and detergent, hydrogenated oils, automobiles, steel and electroplating and rubber industries. These all factories have a solid impact on the environment causing air pollution, water pollution, noise pollution etc. As far as the Air pollution is concerned; CDA (Capital Development Authority) has failed to check the increment in Air pollution. Marble and steel industries are the major cause of air pollution, residents are complaining frequently about diseases like chest congestion and asthma. These factories also causes noise pollution as well as they throw their waste in to the natural streams which irrigate the nearby agricultural lands and thus the food items that grow on such a land causes deaths and a lot of diseases as well. According to Pakistan Environmental Protection Agency (PEPA), steel industries are a big source of pollution because it uses low-quality scrap as a raw material and releases huge number of harmful particles in air.

The cause of the problems due to factories is multi-dimensional, but from very basic the reason is these industrial units are established without environmental impact assessment (EIA) and environmental management and planning (EMD).  The effluents discharge by these industries consists of organic and inorganic chemicals and toxic metals. These effluents are discharged untreated, even though the PH of various effluents varied from very acidic to alkaline within the range 8.5 – 9.7, hardness is very high as far as the effluents from textile mills are concerned, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) was very high, excess of CO₃ and HCO₃, these few parameters are enough for any ordinary person to understand how damaging these effluents can be to our human friendly environment.

Although CDA has a complete environmental division ad EPA is also there to check in the various problems, but the problem is same, policy and law is there but implementation is nowhere, law enforcement seems very weak due to corruption and lack of interest of the authorities and authenticities.

Lowering of Ground Water Table

In the twin cities, the main source of drinking water is Rawal Dam, but only limited areas have access to this water supply scheme. Most of the regions have been using the percussion boring to obtain the underground water individually or there is some sort of tubewell installed which supplies water to the main overhead tank from where the water is introduced to the water supply scheme of the town.

But due to increase of population there is an increase in the amount of water required per capita per day and also this increase of population brings urbanization in twin cities, due to this urbanization the most of the land is now carpeted or cemented, due to which percolation and seepage of rain water has decreased drastically, and thus this causes increase in the amount of water evaporated and much increase in flooding is there. More over the global warming plays its role in causing problems for the inhabitants.

Due to all these processes the natural water cycle gets disturbed, the natural recharge of ground water is affected and thus ultimately the underground water table is now going to get lowered by a rate of 1 to 2 feet per year.

CDA has taken the notice of this problem and has tried to help the nature, by introducing the artificial recharge wells, which they have installed near Faisal Mosque near Islamabad. There is a concept of inverted Recharge Well (IRW) there.  The surface runoff of the Faisal Mosque gets to these wells where it is then showed its path to the underground soil artificially.

Pollution due to Increase in the Public and Private Transport     

In the recent past there is a noticeable rise in the usage of vehicles for mass transport and for luggage transport. This rise in the usage is mainly due to two factors,

(i)            Increase in the standard of living

(ii)          Increase in population

Due to the leasing schemes that have been launched by the different public and private sector Banks, the inhabitants are encouraged to buy their own private vehicles and cars this increase is combined with the industrial revolution in the area showed us by the increase in the trucks and heavy loaded vehicles on the highways.

The results can be seen easily by the traffic congestion, producing horns of the vehicles, producing noise pollution there especially near the congested areas like bazaars and markets; most common areas that can be observed in this regard is Murree Road areas like Shamsabad, Committee Chowk, Commercial Market, Waris Khan stop etc. In Islamabad this problem although is diluted because of the much wider traffic lanes and highways as compared with that of Rawalpindi, but even then the problem is not eliminated, we can see hundreds of vehicles waiting on the traffic lights. The problem of noise pollution in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad is aggravating day by day because of high traffic density and lack of traffic management,

With Noise pollution the air pollution is also causing problems for the inhabitants, the burning of fuels producing gases which are very hazardous for the environment. Gases like Lead Oxide and Sulfur-dioxide have accumulated in large magnitude and are still increasing.

Increase of Solid Waste

Solid Waste which not only includes domestic waste but also the sewerage waste as well. The reason for the rise of amount of solid waste is same i.e. increase of population. Although Rawalpindi and Islamabad are comparatively more organized cities of Pakistan, but still there is no systematic means of dumping the solid waste. We see bundles and heaps of solid waste being present within the centers of the towns and bazaars.

CDA and RDA seems helpless in this regard, there are containers and waste dumpers in the cities provided so that all the solid waste must be dumped in those containers which will then be taken to the dumping sites by the dumpers etc. But firstly those containers are left empty and all the solid waste is seen near these containers in the form of heaps, secondly even if the community dumps their solid waste to these containers, the responsible trucks and wagons doesn’t full fill their responsibility.

More over in Rawalpindi/Islamabad the dumping site is not build as per required by the global environmental laws, what they do is just dig a huge sort of hole in the ground and dump the waste in it without providing the lining on the walls for the leachate etc.

This solid waste is dumped there without separating the recyclable material from it, and thus that solid waste not only waste that land but also causes foul smell in that region, causing problems for the inhabitants.

As far as the solution of this problem is concerned, firstly there is lack of interest and lack of awareness in the community, this brings the challenges for the NGOs and other organizations fighting for the environment to step ahead and tackle this problem. There must be a systematic way to let the inhabitants dump their domestic home waste to a small dumping drum etc, and for each street there must be a dumping container to take care of the waste of street.

CDA, RDA and EPA must collaborate to construct a dumping site of global environmental standards, in the far off region and must encourage the participation of the local community in this regard.

If this problem is not considered for few other foregoing years there will be a drastic increase in the severity of the problem.

Pollution from Hospital Waste

Hospital Waste is considered the most toxic solid waste, and for Rawalpindi/Islamabad this most toxic solid waste is always ignored. This solid waste must not get disposed untreated, but then again there is a continuous violation of this law as well.

Rawalpindi/Islamabad can be considered as the hub of hospitals and Medical Facilities, thus various patients from far off cities come here to get treated. This increase of demand always met with the increase in medical facilities. Very famous Hospitals in Rawalpindi / Islamabad include, PIMS Islamabad, Shifa International Hospital, Maroof International Hospital, Quaid-e-Azam International Hospital, Armed Force Institute of Cardiology, Combined Military Hospital, Center Hospital Islamabad, These are few in number but are many more as well. Recently Punjab Government has constructed state of the art Cardiology Institute in Rawalpindi to meet the growing needs of the medical field in Rawalpindi on Rawal Road near Rescue 1122 office.

Reports are there that private health care practitioners, especially in Rawalpindi’s Saidpur area, dispose of their syringes, disposable scalpels and blades like normal municipal waste. Cases have been observed where chemicals, for example solvents and disinfectants, expired, unused, and contaminated pharmaceutical are just thrown away to be picked up by the municipal workers.

Moreover, radioactive matter, such as glassware contaminated with radioactive diagnostic material or radio-therapeutic materials and wastes with high heavy metal contents, such as broken mercury thermometers, are put on the garbage heaps.

There must be disinfectants and solid waste treatment plants within each hospital and pharmaceutical facility. The law must bound all the hospitals to keep in check their disposal system, auditing must be done by the external auditors to check for any poor management and any sort of environmental hazardous material being dispose of as a municipal waste.

Behavioral Change Due to Environment

We all know the importance of environment on the behavior of human beings. To judge a human his/her environment is always judged. As also said by our Religion that “Cleanliness is half faith”, this tells us how important our clean environment is for us. The noise pollution caused by traffic, congestion, increase of mobile phones, and increase of use of televisions has made us prone to behavioral change attacks.

We easily loose our temper and this brings a lot of other troubles in our lives as well. The poor quality of drinking water brings a lot of health problems for us, we need to boil water before drinking. Poor quality of food items and poor cleanliness in our surroundings has changed us as a human. Our thinking and analytical capabilities have changed, we are much effected by the others now a days. The change of weather of Rawalpindi / Islamabad due to climate change and global warming always has an impact on our lives, we are now facing with more severity of the climate like more cold in winter and more hot in summer, the pollen allergy problem in winter has also made us to think about leaving this city in the future.

Conclusion

These all environmental problems though harsh, but has a solution. By just changing our mind about the environment having awareness of how to improve our environment we can has a solid impact on these problems. The awareness seminars and campaigns like “Ain-Amal” which was being initiated in Rawalpindi / Islamabad (the slogan of which was that small changes in our personal lives might combine with the whole community and brings revolution) can bring change and revolution in our society.

The law, policy and act being passed by the constitutional building institution i.e. Parliament, must met with the seriousness and firm act. The violation of these concerned laws must meet with fine and punishment.

Media must play its role on publicizing the awareness campaigns, although the running campaigns like “Safe-guard” Pakistan is good enough but these are not fair enough to meet with the growing environmental challenges which we are facing. Islamic Scholars must full fill their duty in spreading the natural Islamic viewpoint on the clean environment.

In a nutshell, to meet a success you need to take a step, so just a step towards success is needed, as rightly said that where there is a will there is a way, if we have a will that we have to keep our environment clean and must not be the one responsible for the environmental degradation, we might get out of this trouble very easily.