ISLAMABAD, June 5: Due to the ever-increasing global warming, the South Asian region is experiencing on average 1 to 2 degrees centigrade rise in temperature with much reduced rainfall.

This was revealed at a seminar on “University-industry interaction for abatement of environmental pollution and climate change,” held here on Tuesday in connection with the World Environment Day.

This year’s theme for the environment day is “Melting Ice — A Hot Topic”.

All the participants of the seminar suggested that industry should come forward to fund need-based research in the field of environment instead of expecting the same from the government.

They said industry owners should know that it was high time to have adequate knowledge to abate increasing global warming. Its everybody’s concern, they said.

According to a paper presented on the occasion by Pervaiz Amir of Economist Asianics Agro Dev, Islamabad, more recent studies have proved that Pakistan had already started experiencing repercussions of the global warming.

If the climate change pattern continues at the same pace as it is changing at the moment, Pakistan essentially will be losing a significant portion of its glacier resource within the next 48 years with medium-term catastrophic results, he said.

At present Pakistan is experiencing hot summers with temperature up to 53 degrees centigrade, the annual average rainfall is 278mm with the monsoon share of 48 per cent.

Although the intensity of the rainfall is likely to be higher with micro cloudbursts resulting in flashfloods, it has also been postulated that 1-2 per cent decrease in cloud cover in central Pakistan will lead to an increase in sunshine hours, he said.

Dry weather will result in droughts, dust storms, high level meteorological activity including high wind velocities and thunderstorms.

The most horrifying assumptions focus on glacier melt that is likely to cause widespread soil erosion, impacting on the river system generated in the Himalaya region, Mr Amir said.

There will be less snowfall, snow deposits, glacierisation, reduced river flows, reduction in storage of water in dams, less rainfall in arid areas and prolonged droughts, he added.

The Higher Education Commission (HEC) is strengthening departments of environmental sciences in various universities to tackle the problems related to environment themes, HEC Chairman Dr Attaur Rahman said while speaking as chief guest on the occasion.

International Islamic University President Dr Anwar H. Siddiqui stressed the importance of science and technology and revealed that the IIU was now branching out in fields of science as there was no difference between Islamic and non-Islamic subjects.

The seminar provided a forum to enhance the futuristic liaison between universities and the industry to cater to the latter’s environmental problems.

Our Reporter Adds: The Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) has urged academia to work on indigenous manufacturing of pollution control devices, efficient in working and competitive in prices to encourage industries to install such equipment.

ICCI President Nasir Khan, in a statement issued here on Tuesday, said imported devices were usually expensive that discouraged the industries to use these.

He stressed greater interaction between industry and academia to control environmental pollution. He emphasised the need to take prompt and appropriate action in controlling the pollution otherwise in coming days the situation would become critical.

He said the ICCI and the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) had taken measures for installing pollution control devices in the steel industries. He said that EPA greatly assisted the industries in designing the air pollution devices.

Mr Khan said with the increase in industries, traffic and population, pollution was gradually on the rise.