In a world of higher electricity demand growth, clean electricity is stepping up to the challenge. Spearheaded by exponential solar expansion, clean power is set to grow faster than demand, marking the start of a permanent decline in fossil generation. 2024 both clarified and consolidated the shape of the global …
KARACHI: Metallic pollution seems to have risen over the years as the highest concentrations of heavy metals in green mussels were observed in 2012, according to a study. The comparative study for 2012 and 1993 was conducted by the Institute of Marine Sciences (IMS), Karachi University. Green mussels were used …
The record-breaking worldwide heat of the first six months of 2016 has turned to abnormally severe seasonal flooding across Asia with hundreds of people dying in China, India, Nepal and Pakistan and millions forced from their homes. In India, the Brahmaputra river, which is fed by Himalayan snowmelt and monsoon …
Heavy rainfall, high temperatures and major pest outbreaks have taken a heavy toll on Pakistan’s cotton growing districts of Punjab and Sindh province this year. Pakistan’s Ministry of Textile Industry has expressed concern over the 28 per cent drop in cotton production during 2015-16 caused by climate change-induced phenomena. Khalid …
Islamabad—Despite a large number of water filtration plants installed at various points, water quality in the twin cities remains a big issue. Its quality and unchecked supply continue to pose challenges to the Water And Sanitation Agency (WASA) in Rawalpindi as well as CDA’s Water Directorate in the federal capital. …
RAWALPINDI: Smoke emitting from small factories and commercial units in several areas of Rawalpindi city has not only been causing environmental pollution but has also been contributing to fatal diseases. The Rawalpindi Development Authority (RDA) has allowed several small factories and commercial units to operate in many areas without keeping …
Calls to public health hotlines can predict dengue fever outbreaks two or three weeks earlier than local hospitals can confirm them, according to a new study from Pakistan. The study looked at 300,000 calls to a health hotline in Lahore over two years. By asking callers to describe their symptoms …
ISLAMABAD: After Islamabad, Lahore has the least number of income-poor households in the country. The first ever Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) for the country categorises as poor only 4.3 percent of the city’s households. The number of its income-poor households has come down from 10.3 percent in 2008-09 to 4.3 …
KARACHI: Despite growing global concerns over air pollution and the fact that Karachi has been declared the fifth most polluted city in a World Health Organisation (WHO) report released early this year, the government seems to be in no hurry to re-start environmental monitoring stations that have remained idle for …
In a landmark case, seven-year-old Rabab Ali has sued the government for violating her rights, and the rights of her generation, to a healthy life. "I want the government to give me and my friends a safe environment to grow up in. I want it to help me conserve it …
Following unseasonably heavy pre-monsoon rains, Pakistan continues to be adversely affected by severe weather events. According to the Provincial Disaster Management Agency of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, heavy rains hit Ursoon village in south-west Chitral district on the evening of 2 July. The resulting flash flood washed away a mosque, an army …
RAWALPINDI: As blazing hot weather persists, many suburban areas in Rawalpindi have been facing acute water shortage, forcing residents to buy the commodity from tanker suppliers at exorbitant costs. In some areas, the situation is aggravating with each passing day as authorities have failed to ensure a modicum of water …
Pakistan’s energy sector is in crisis. Inadequate electricity supplies cost the country US$14 bn annually and some 11,000 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operate at just 60% of capacity. In 2015, Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change and the Punjab Power Development Board asked the Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN) …
An earthquake has jolted different parts of the country on Thursday (today). The areas that were hit by the earthquake were Lahore, Islamabad and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). According to American Geological Survey, the magnitude recorded on the Richter scale was 5.1. The epicentre was the Hindu Kush region of Afghanistan, …
ISLAMABAD: The government has fixed a target of agricultural credit for 2016-17 at Rs 680 billion in the '11th Five Year Plan'. According to sources, keeping in view the enthusiasm of the banks, push by the State Bank of Pakistan and support by the government, it is expected that this …
ISLAMABAD: The involvement of a huge annual business of agriculture seeds valuing Rs40 to Rs60 billion is a key hurdle to passage of the Plant Breeders Rights Bill, which has been stuck in parliament for the last more than 10 years. In the absence of this law that safeguards intellectual …
Pakistan’s first ever official report on multidimensional poverty was launched by the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. According to the report, nearly 39 percent of Pakistanis live in multidimensional poverty, with the highest rates of poverty in FATA and Balochistan. Pakistan’s MPI showed a strong decline, with national poverty …
ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Climate Change will establish Climate Change Authority to ensure coordinated efforts and policies to meet the challenges posed by the global warming and environmental degradation. The government is taking short, medium and long-term measures to meet the challenge of climate change, a senior official of the …
PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to provide a complete record of action taken against those industries that are causing pollution. A division bench, comprising justices Yahya Afridi and Syed Afsar Shah, was hearing a petition filed by two construction companies, Stinger Construction Company and Durrani Construction …
An earthquake of moderate intensity jolted several parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on Wednesday; no casualty or loss of property was reported. According to the geological wing of Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), an earthquake of magnitude 5.4 on the Richter scale was felt in Malakand …
Shipping fresh milk across Pakistan’s hot desert terrain can often result in soured supplies. But global food giant Nestlé Corp. reckons it has found a way to reduce the amount that spoils as the liquid travels from farm to shelf in that country, where the company works with more than …
