ISLAMABAD: Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam on Monday highlighted escalating climate challenges faced by developing countries, particularly members of the African Asian Rural Development Organisation (Aardo).

She was addressing a training programme titled, ‘Disaster Management and Climate Change Adaptation’, organised by the Akhtar Hameed Khan National Centre for Rural Development (AHKNCRD) in collaboration with Aardo in the capital.

Romina Khurshid Alam said limited financial resources and inadequate infrastructure exacerbated the impact of climate change.

During her address, Ms Alam noted that climate change was a pressing global issue, particularly for countries within Aardo that were grappling with various environmental threats which undermined their socio-economic stability.

Countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh were especially vulnerable to floods caused by glacial melt and changing monsoon patterns, she said, adding that Kenya and Zambia were facing severe droughts, which significantly affected agriculture and water availability.

“Malaysia and Oman are confronted with rising sea levels that endanger coastal communities and infrastructure,” she said, adding that “water scarcity is a recurring challenge across many of these nations”.

Ms Alam said Jordan, Palestine and Namibia were among the most water-stressed countries globally, raising serious concerns about access to clean drinking water and agricultural irrigation, adding that additionally, countries such as Syria and Ghana were experiencing soil degradation, further exacerbating food security risks.

The prime minister’s aide pointed out that developing nations were already dealing with rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and cyclones.

To address these challenges, she emphasised the urgent need for greater collaboration to manage disasters and adapt to climate change effectively.

Meanwhile, the Global South Month of Action on Heatwaves will officially commence on Friday, bringing together civil society members, experts and community leaders to raise a unified voice against the causes, losses and damages caused by heatwaves.

Heatwaves, intensified by climate change, are becoming more frequent, prolonged and severe, disproportionately affecting communities with limited resources to adapt.

The Global South, which contributes the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, suffers the most from rising temperatures, water shortages, crop failures and heat-related health crises, according to experts.

Devcom-Pakistan Executive Director Munir Ahmed has been designated as the Global South Civil Society Month of Action on Heatwave Regional Director for Asia. Speaking on the urgency of the issue on Monday, he emphasised the responsibility of industrialised nations in addressing the crisis.

Published in Dawn, February 11th, 2025