ISLAMABAD, June 03 (NNI): At the demand of the International Monitory Fund (IMF), the federal government has been proposed a big increase of 300 per cent in the annual budget the climate change for the new fiscal year 2024-25.
The proposed budget for climate change for the new fiscal year is set at Rs15.67 billion.
In the current fiscal year, the development budget for climate change was allocated at Rs4 billion only.
The sources said the new budget proposal aimed to allocate funds following the requirements of climate change.
The sources said the IMF had called the Pakistani government for an increase in the budget for climate change initiatives.
The channel reported that Pakistan’s mangoes are normally a source of national pride and much-needed income, but farmers are blaming climate change for the parasites and extreme weather ruining much of this season’s crop.
A white and orange scarf wrapped around his head in the scorching heat, farmer Muhammad Yusuf lamented the erratic weather.
An abnormally long winter was followed by the wettest April in decades, while the country is now experiencing a heatwave with temperatures hitting up to 52 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit).
“Buds didn’t flower on time, many buds just died. Those that started growing were infected with (parasite) black hopper,” said Yusuf, who has worked half his life growing mangoes. “The mangoes turn yellow from the outside but remain underripe or overripe inside,” he explained.
Pakistan is the world’s fourth-largest mango producer and agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of its GDP. Pakistan’s 20 varieties of mangoes come second only to oranges as the most-produced fruit in the country.
The income loss from a poor harvest could have a significant impact on the country, which is in talks to secure a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
It is also worthy to mention that the world experienced an average of 26 more days of extreme heat over the last 12 months that would probably not have occurred without climate change.
The report was published by the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre, the World Weather Attribution scientific network and the nonprofit research organisation Climate Central.
As per the report, extreme heatwaves have afflicted swathes of the globe from Mexico to Pakistan.
The report said that in the last 12 months some 6.3 billion people — roughly 80 percent of the global population — experienced at least 31 days of what is classed as extreme heat. “Flooding and hurricanes may capture the headlines but the impacts of extreme heat are equally deadly,” said Jagan Chapagain, secretary general of the International Federation of the Red Cross. NNI
