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Pakistan is an agricultural country and its population continues to grow rapidly at an alarming pace. The agricultural sector is playing a vital role in strengthening the economy of the country. Apart from traditional cereals cultivation, climatic conditions of Pakistan are feasible and appropriate for the cultivation of temperate, tropical and subtropical fruits. Thus, diverse environmental conditions allow the farmers to cultivate a variety of fruits which ultimately uplifting the burden from traditionally cultivated crops. In recent years, the cultivation and yield of different fruit trees are declining in the country. The key contributors to the decline in fruit crop yield include abiotic stresses, biotic stresses, certain pathogens and nematodes, market devaluation and access, urbanization, poor gardening, poverty climate change, small landholdings, exogenous factors and managerial decisions, etc. So, to counter these fruit yield declining factors the use of advanced molecular markers is a handy option for the improvement of the fruit germplasm in Pakistan. Additionally, they also have diverse applications in the area of genetic diversity, varietal identification studies, hybrid detection, disease diagnostics and sex differentiation by administering the powerful diagnostic polymorphism detection tools at specific loci and the genome level. This review focuses on exploring the application, recent advancements and future implications of DNA-based molecular markers with the context of their role in the genetic improvement of fruit germplasm that is widely grown in Pakistan like citrus, apples, mangoes, guavas, bananas, date palms and peaches, etc. Furthermore, by offering a piece of scientific information and addressing developments, notably in DNA-based molecular markers, this review paper may serve as a road map for obtaining high-yielding fruit varieties in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

German Strategic Policy (1991-2017) changed because of several factors, which included the assertive behaviour of Russia, incoming refugees, the threat of terrorism, Brexit, the waning interests of the United States in Europe, and escalating climate change problems. The German Strategic Policy that spanned over two decades focused on developing and modernizing military hardware. This requirement in fact can be observed by analysing the recent shifts in German policies and politics at large. These shifts are largely based on the German strong economy based on free trade and policies of economic development. Many scholars argue a facet of economic strength is reflected in military power. This paper analyses German defence policy change and discusses factors that led to changes in German strategic position in the EU as a strong military power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to test the impact of climate change on agricultural productivity of major crops, including rice, wheat and maize, in specific districts of Pakistan. This is done by observing year-to-year fluctuations in rainfall and temperature in relation to agricultural productivity for the period 1981-2009. For estimation purposes, the production function technique is used to evaluate the relationship between climate and yield variability. The results show that higher amount of rainfall has a negative and significant impact on the production of all crops including wheat, rice and maize. It may be because unexpected rainfall in Pakistan during monsoon season severely damages crops. This result is consistent with our expectation that high level of rainfall would decrease agricultural productivity and contribute to food insecurity in Pakistan. However, variation in temperature displays a stable trend and has significant positive impact on crop yield. This is contrary to our expectation that high temperature results in low agricultural productivity. This analysis is useful from the stand point of policy makers and analysts as it will help them develop policies relating to improvement in agricultural sector in the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focused on redefining agricultural extension practice in Nigeria in response to the challenges of climate change. We reviewed 58 articles from research databases that were in line with our inclusion criteria for adequate understanding of the current state of agricultural extension practice in Nigeria and climate change concerns. The review identified the effects of climate change on agricultural extension practice, ascertained the training needs of agricultural extension workers towards climate change resilience, highlighted the strategies for repositioning the Nigerian agricultural extension system for climate change resilience and ascertained the opportunities and barriers for agricultural extension system towards building climate change resilience. Results show that climate change has adversely affected agricultural extension practice in Nigeria by worsening its operational environment. Changes in rainfall pattern have made it cumbersome for effective implementation of extension advice in real time. Training needs of extension workers for climate change resilience among others include the need to bridge digital divide, implementation of strategies for a better interface with development partners and optimization of the use indigenous mitigation strategies for climate change. The review recommends that essential strategies that must be in-cooperated in the extension service delivery in Nigeria should include adoption of new scenario thinking in communicating resilience building, establishment of emergency management unit by the agency, encouraging the involvement of the private sector in the extension service, transferring of research results on best affordable resilience practices to farmers as well as ensuring that government and other agencies are kept abreast with farmer's feedback on their challenges in building climate change resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change awareness has become very important to develop adaptation strategies for climate change impacts. Climate change impacts varied in type and intensity for different countries, but the lack of awareness is making developing countries more vulnerable to the alarming impacts of climate change. The purpose of this study was to explore the level of awareness to make adaptation strategy for climate change impacts in Lahore, Pakistan. Relevant literature on climate change awareness revealed that climate change awareness in Pakistan was very low. The findings of this paper were based on a detailed survey conducted with the general public of Lahore. This research paper was attempted to find out the existing level of climate change awareness for making better adaptation strategy in Lahore. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent times agriculture sector has been considered as one of the most affected sectors by climate change. Climatic factors that have direct influence on agricultural productivity are: rise in temperature, heavy rainfall, precipitation, floods and drought etc. This paper has empirically examined the effect of climatic variations on cotton productivity in Pakistan. In order to evaluate the climate change, three climatic variables (rainfall, max. temp and min temp) and three non-climatic variables (technology, fertilizer and area) had been used for analysis. Historical climate data from 1981-2015, was collected from Pakistan Meteorological Department, while data of Technology, fertilizer and cotton area has been gathered from Pakistan Economic Survey. ARDL bound testing econometric approach was employed to gauge the empirical estimates. The outcomes of cointegration shows that all climate variables have statistically substantial effect on cotton productivity in Pakistan. Both rain-fall and maximum temperature have positive effects while minimum temperature has negative effects on cotton production. Furthermore, both fertilizer and area have positive impact on cotton production. long run cointegrating relationship holds among climate change variables and cotton productivity. mitigating negative impressions of climate change requires strategies focusing on the adaptation of climate resistant cultivars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An energy transition is a prerequisite and considered of paramount significance to meet the goal of climate and energy security sustainability. This transition is hardly conceivable without acknowledging the massive worldwide potential of renewable energy. Power outage in Pakistan that is caused primarily by insufficient and expensive power generation, line losses, and ineffective planning has escalated Pakistan's energy crisis. Almost every single sector of national economy has been adversely affected because of this excessive power outage. Recent floods in Pakistan, one of the outcomes of climate change, have necessitated incorporation of clean energy fuels to ensure climate sustainability. Keeping the magnanimity of the crisis in consideration, Islamabad has adopted some remedial measures to overcome this energy crisis but the problem still persists and requires pragmatic policies. The under-utilized renewable potential and power generation by expensive imported fossil fuels has led to excessive increase in cost of energy generation and climate deterioration. However, it is imperative for the government to adopt appropriate and workable solutions to address the energy crisis adequately. This is a qualitative study that employs content analysis technique to explore the dynamics of Pakistan's energy security and climate sustainability in a substantive manner. This paper is aimed at exploring the inherent potential of Pakistan in renewable energy (RE) not only to mitigate Pakistan's energy crisis but also to ensure sustainability in climate and energy security. Moreover, this study presents critical evaluation of the appropriate sites of wind and solar power plants in Pakistan. Last but not the least, it proposes short and long term remedial measures to mitigate if not to overcome this energy crisis entirely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the greatest biological crisis which happened at the Permian-Triassic boundary (250 million years (My) ago) is best documented in the well-exposed rocks of the Salt Range and the adjacent Surghar and Khisor Ranges in northern Pakistan which has been intensively studied since the pioneer work of Waagen in 1895. In these ranges the Upper Permian to Middle Triassic is represented by mixed siliciclastic carbonate sediments, named (in ascending order) the Chhidru, Mianwali, and Tredian formations. The present studies have brought in new insights to stratigraphy, faunal turn-over dynamics and environmental conditions of the Permo-Triassic (PT) sequence exposed in western Salt Range continuing in the adjoining Surghar Range. The Permo-Triassic (PT) boundary is reportedly diachronous in the Salt and Surghar Ranges. The conodont fauna suggest that the PT boundary coincides with the disconformity at the Chhidru-Mianwali formations but the palynological assemblages from the upper-most Chhidru Formation have affinities with Permian as well as Griesbachian (basal Early Triassic). The Ammonite fauna from the Lower Triassic Mianwali Formation shows at least two episodes of radiation-extinction in the time interval from the Griesbachian to the early Spathian: within just three-to-four million years' time span. The palynological and the carbon isotope analysis of the Upper Chhidru-Mianwali-Lower Tredian sequence suggest series of reduced humidity events which coincides with positive shifts in global carbon isotopes record. The particulate organic matter record of the Mianwali Formation does not support the prolonged 'Early Triassic marine anoxia' but suggests rather oxygenated environmental conditions. In summary, the diversification patterns and environmental changes after the end-Permian extinction event are much more complex than previously thought, which are being highlighted in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Altitude causes changes in the environmental factors thus alter the anatomy of plants greatly. Anatomical modifications of plants under broad environmental changes concerning global climate changes along the altitudinal gradient are lacking. Therefore, the present investigation was conducted to find out the structural modifications of a wide range of species growing in contrasting habitat along the altitudinal and rainfall gradients in Pakistan. For such perspectives, perennial shrubs were collected along the altitudinal transect ranges 410-2941m (a.s.l). The transect was passed through five climatic forest types of Pakistan during 2018. The wood parameters were measured from the macerated wood materials included length of vessel element, vessel element diameter, fiber length, fiber diameter, fiber lumen diameter; wall thickness, slenderness ratio (SR), Runkel ratio (RR) and coefficient of suppleness (CS). Analysis of variance and cluster analyses were used for data simplification. Alpine flora exhibited the shortest vessel and fibers while the longest vessels were recorded in montane Sub-tropical plateau forest. However, no changes were recorded in-wall diameter, Runkel ratio and coefficient of suppleness were observed with the changes in altitude and climatic factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review paper is designed to demonstrate how community forestry has played an important role in the livelihood improvement of poor people in the rural areas of Nepal. The Community Forestry Program in Nepal has been a successful model for participatory action oriented especially in environmental governance and community-based forest management in developing countries which encompasses well-defined policies, institutions and practices. The program addresses the twin goals of forest conservation on one hand and livelihood improvement on the other hand. It is well known that there is a great diversity among resource users in terms of access, use and control over community forestry but still it is playing a large role in improving livelihood, increasing forest resources and also mitigating climate change Promoting community forest management in Nepal can be an effective policy instrument for poverty eradication and improvement of overall living standards like in many developing countries. There is always a problem of capture of the benefits by the elites in each community, so increase in the level of awareness is always necessary to ensure the involvement of disenfranchised people where their needs are met, so giving access and management rights over forest resources to local communities is expected to enhance livelihoods and other benefits of these impoverished people Policy-makers, experts and the local communities should be involved in developing and improving the benefits obtained from community forestry for the benefits of local people. Some challenges still remain, including elite capture, social disparity, inequitable benefit-sharing and exclusion of poor and marginalized users faced by the community forestry, local users, government officials and other stakeholders which should be solved soon to show the profound impact of community forestry management, utilization and conservation on a sustainable basis [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agriculture in Pakistan is extremely vulnerable to climate change. Adaptation of the agriculture sector is imperative as it contributes 20 percent to the GDP and supports directly or indirectly about 68 percent of the population for their sustenance. Farmers' perception about climate change, current adaptation measures, and decision-making process is important for farmers' successful adaptation strategies. Using data of 205 conventional farmers from three district of Punjab province, this study provides insights into farmers' perceptions about climate change, on-going adaptation practices, and constraints to various adaption strategies. We found that majority of the farmers do not consider climate change as a potential threat to agriculture; therefore, they do not make any intentional efforts to change their farming practices. However, a few adaptation measures like use of different crop varieties, tree planting, and drip irrigation methods are prevalent in the research area. The major hurdles that farmers perceived in adaptation are limited access to credit, lack of access to information, and institutional support. As expected, no significant variations were found across districts in the characteristics of respondents (age and income) that can affect their perceptions, their adaptation strategies, and obstacles faced in adaptation. The results of the study need to be interpreted with caution, as we did not focus on other determinants like education, role of media, and government policies that can affect farmers' choices to adopt climate resilient farming practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the role of UN peacekeepers in creating awareness about the effects of climate change and establishes links with national security policy making process in host nations. A social survey was carried out to determine links between the United Nations Peace Keeping Operations (UNPKOs) and importance of climatic literacy. The data was gathered from 120 UN peacekeepers, 84 per cent of them supported constructive perspective of climatic literacy in maintaining peace and stability in conflict zones. Since the impact of climate change is a wide subject, the scope of this article, therefore, is limited to how the UN peacekeepers can help the host nations through climate literacy campaign. This paper is a contribution to a global awareness campaign as well as source of empirical evidence to enhance capacity of UNPKOs and the host nations to help formulate a sustainable policymaking process to counter the threats of climate change. The article concludes that there is a need to consider climate change as a national and international security threat and, therefore, building capacity of UN peacekeepers through climate literacy program is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pakistan's efforts for environmental protection and climate justice offers a striking story. Pakistan not only proved to be an astral leader as Chair of G77 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992, but its judiciary has also been playing a critical role in providing direction for dispensation of climate justice with the help of innovative interpretation of fundamental rights in country's constitution. In this context, the case of Leghari v. Federation of Pakistan was a step in the right direction for climate justice in Pakistan since it argued that the government's inability to take timely actions affected the petitioner's fundamental rights. The decree, too, is a cardinal achievement in the domain of climate justice and climate change litigation process. This paper presents the ground analysis of this case law by combining the previous studies on the subject and overwhelming implication of climate change on human rights. Moreover, it attempts to discuss the cases, which were recently resolved and some of the pending ones which through logical reasoning address climate injustice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resilience building mechanism to mitigate effects of climate change by yam farmers in Benue State, Nigeria was investigated in this study. One hundred and eighty (180) yam farmers were sampled for the study. Primary data was gathered with the use of interview schedule. Descriptive statistics and regression were used to analyze data collected. The result shows that the mean age of the farmers was 45.3 years and 83.3% were males. The result also shows that weather forecast (Mean=1.42) and change in farming type (crop-livestock Mean=1.36) were not commonly used by farmers meanwhile the farmers preferred planting of early maturing yam seed (Mean=3.58), use of mulching (Mean=3.46), crop rotation (Mean=3.27), organic fertilizer (Mean=3.07) and cover crops (Mean=3.05). The result of regression analysis showed that coefficient value of farm size (p=0.017) and membership of cooperatives (p=0.013) positively enhanced resilience building used to mitigate the effects of climate change. The study further averred that inadequate finance, traditional belief, and inadequate access to new technologies were serious constraints encountered by yam farmers. The study recommends that government in collaboration with development agencies should intensify effort in creating awareness to farmers on the several ways of building resilience to mitigate the menace of negative influence of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change is a change in the long-term weather patterns that characterize the regions of the world. So, if we look at the situation in Pakistan it is affecting rapidly that's why Production and growth rate of Agriculture is badly affected because of it. Its destruction on Agriculture sector is massive in Pakistan. Changing in climate is directly affecting the livelihoods of Agricultural communities in Pakistan. It has also become the reason of rising temperature and lot of other problems in agriculture sector like food production, quality, and quantity of food is decreasing. Rising temperature effecting yields a lot in sense of production. The worst and biggest effect of climate change is flood. Around 3.4 million hector area of agriculture damaged by flood during 2010 and2011 and now in 2022 same as previously 9.1 million acres agricultural land is affected by floods and now the flood situation is worse than the past. Being an agrarian country more than 70% labour force of Pakistan depends on the agriculture. Due to climate changes people living or depending on agricultural sector for their livelihoods are facing much serious problem as their production in agricultural sector is much less than before. People of Pakistan facing so many challenges regarding Livelihood because they are depending on the output of their farms which is affecting severely. This study was conducted in district Muzaffargarh, Punjab, Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In current study impact of climate change on net revenue of rice crop in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) Pakistan was assessed by cross-sectional Ricardian method. Data was collected from 180 rice growers in different climatic zone of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa including southern, central and northern regions. Key cost components were identified by simple budgeting technique. It reveals that land rent account for 29.11% of total cost, followed by labor (26.47%), threshing (8.53%) and tractor hours (8.31%). Per acre net returns noted vary across climatic zones, with northern zone yielding the highest at Rs. 30190.76/-followed by southern (Rs. 29957.12/-) and central zone (Rs. 27340.72/-). Temporal analysis having range from 1986-2021 reveals an upward trend for temperature in all three stages across the three zones. While rainfall patterns exhibit hill shaped curve during sowing and vegetative stages and a U-shaped curve during harvesting stage. Controlled variables including tractor hours, labor days, urea, DAP, and irrigation show positive and significant correlations with net revenue. A 1% increase in these variables results net revenue increase by 0.172 %, 0.175%, 0.019%, 0.061% and 0.113%, respectively. Study revealed non-linear relationship between temperature, rainfall and net revenue. Temperature's impact on net revenue follow inverted-U shaped with a critical temperature of 31 C°, beyond which rice crop yield decrease. Rainfall's effect for net return is U-shaped with a minimum rainfall level of 41 mm for study period. It is concluded that temperature increase in southern and central zone adversely affect crop yield because average temperature (34.88 °C, 34.77 °C) already exceeds the optimal level. Based on findings study recommended mechanized farming practices, such as use of rice combine harvester, mechanical drier and automatic planters to reduce production costs. Further, optimizing the use of basic inputs and implementing nature-based measures such as developing vegetative cover to control temperature could enhance net returns. Effective information sharing among stakeholders and timely action are essential to mitigate climate change risk in study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cotton is an important cash crop that generates a large amount of revenue in Pakistan. Cotton production was decreased due to climate change, biotic and abiotic factors, unpredictable rain patterns, high temperatures. Therefore, it needs to identify cultivars with suitable sowing time in a specific environment. The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the yield potential of different cotton genotypes under different sowing dates (early to late). In 2019 and 2020, a field experiment was conducted at Cotton Research Station, Sahiwal, Pakistan. The experiment was conducted using a split-plot arrangement in a randomized complete block design with three replicates. The main plot comprised six sowing dates with an interval of 15 days starting from 16th March, and the subplot consisted of four varieties: SLH-8, FH-Lalazar, CIM-622 and FH-142.It was observed that maximum seed cotton yield was recorded for sowing date 16th March during both years, i.e., 2019 (1583.63 kgha-1) and 2020 (1741.96 kgha-1). SLH-8 was the best performing variety among all studied genotypes for plant height, boll weight, and seed cotton yield. The mean seed cotton yield during both years ranged 1434.58 to 1983.77 kg ha-1. Maximum seed cotton yield during both years was showed by SLH-8 that was 1726.82 and 2240.71 kg ha-1. Correlation analysis showed that seed cotton yield was positively correlated with the boll weight (0.738**) and number of bolls per plant (0.53**). Sowing dates in March, April, and May were grouped together in cluster no. 2, whereas sowing dates in June were grouped together in group 1. This study helps to optimize the sowing date to meet the climate changes and enhance the seed cotton yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has brought some challenges for the governments in the world. Different governments in the world have adopted different policies to face the challenges of climate change. Pakistan is one of most affected nations by climate change and it has launched a complete program in the clean and green Pakistan movement to counter these challenges. This is a borderless issue and needed collective response along with the specific one to combat these challenges. It is the matter of fact that Pakistan is a developing nation with limited resources to combat the huge challenges of climate change. Imran Khan as head of his political party PTI introduced programs like the Billion tree tsunami in KPK in 2014 and later on won the general elections of 2018 launched a ten billion tree tsunami campaign and soon after made it part of the Clean Green Pakistan Movement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The threat and vulnerabilities related to climate change are high among the communities living in mountainous regions due to Pakistan's limited livelihood opportunities. Climate change impact is gendered in the real sense. This study is designed to analyze women's livelihood situation in mountainous regions in the face of climate change with a qualitative methodology. Focus group discussions, participatory observations, and key informant interviews were used in collecting women's perspectives. Flash floods, temperature rise, erratic rainfall, and land sliding were the main climatic hazards perceived by women. During the risks, the most vulnerable people were women and children. Women's household activities burden doubled during the disaster days comparing with their male member's counterparts. Women contribute significantly to adaptation and resilience to climatic extremes. The drivers of their resilience are hard work and diversity of livelihood resources. In changing climate conditions, it is imperative to devise gender-sensitive and region-wise policies and planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to identify major problems related to the agriculture sector in Pakistan and focusing on China Pakistan Economic Corridor's (CPEC) role in addressing these issues. The agriculture sector is playing a major role in the economic development of Pakistan and this sector has greatly sustained rural livelihood. There are three various stages for the successful execution of the projects under the umbrella of CPEC. The agriculture sector would be directly or indirectly benefited from these projects, currently ongoing under CPEC. Over the last several decades the country's agriculture sector has severely been affected, and the crisis in energy might be the prime reason responsible for this downfall. In order to achieve the objectives of the study, a comprehensive literature survey has been conducted. Scores of problems have been identified that has greatly affected the agriculture sector such as water deficiency, climate changes, long duration load shedding, traditional farming practices, poor extension services, high prices of fertilizers, land insecurity, etc. The outcomes of this study showed that the successful completion of CPEC related projects in the energy sector and infrastructure development will boost the agricultural output, provide job opportunities and poverty eradication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's globalised world environmental factors are going to play a major role in not so distant a future, in the social and economic development of countries, especially the underdeveloped ones. We cannot comprehend the magnitude of these changes right now especially in Pakistan, where environmental degradation is already having a major impact, be it through changing climate patterns, or increased number of natural calamities. Conference of Parties (COP21) was a United Nation (UN) Conference on Climate Change in Paris, held between November-December 2015, to put these environmental changes into perspective and find solutions for them. The major outcome of this conference was the Paris Agreement. In September 2015, during the 70th United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) meeting, which was a precursor to the COP21 Conference, the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was approved. Pakistan is one of the countries, already suffering from the effects of climate change and water insecurity issues, falls into the category of water stressed states. As one of the signatories of the Paris Agreement, it gives a great opportunity to Pakistan to seek help from the international community to deal better with its environmental issues. As Pakistan is an agrarian economy, any drastic changes in the environment will have an adverse impact on its national economy. This paper will evaluate the vulnerability of Pakistan to the phenomenon of climate change, and the deleterious impact it can have on the per capita income, water security, and food-energy nexus of the people of Pakistan; and will suggest as to how the policy makers of the country can place it on the path towards green economy, as envisioned by the government's Vision 2025 plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to improve understanding of the nexus between climate variability and yam (Dioscorea spp.) production in Ikom Local Government Area of Cross River State, Nigeria. Rainfall, temperature, sunshine and relative humidity (1976-2016), as well as yam yield data (1990-2016) were considered. Results revealed that climate elements fluctuated steadily during the period with a marginal increase in yam yield. The projections from the Time Series Modeler showed that relative humidity will decrease slightly while yam yield will increase by an additional 265 metric tons in 2026. Although minimal, and not significant to the declining food production trend in Nigeria, the projected increase in yam production in the area would support the deficit in food availability. The nexus between both variables was hypothesized using the multiple linear regression analysis. The result revealed that only sunshine intensity was a significant predictor of yam yield (p =0.011), whereas rain days (p = 0.332), rainfall volume (p = 0.393), temperature (p = 0.235) and relative humidity (p = 0.963) were not. This suggests that key climate variables do not significantly influence yam yield in the area, implying that non-climatic factors likely have more impact. This provides better opportunities to upscale yam production in the area and gives room for better planning by farmers and policy makers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate variations have lot of the financial, medical and economic consequences. Studies showed that climate plays the vital role in virus transmission. This study analyzed the impact of climate indicators on COVID-19 concerning Pakistan. The secondary data is used for analysis as obtained from world health organization, ministry of health Pakistan and Pakistan meteorological department. The results show that all the research variables like temperature maximum, temperature minimum, humidity, and wind flow are positively and significantly correlated to COVID-19. Findings show that temperature maximum, temperature minimum, and wind flow have the positive and significant association with COVID-19, while the humidity has a positive impact on COVID-19 transmission. The study show that minimum temperature is favorable for the virus transmission. Thus, the study provides significant results in reaching the decision and concluding the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dairy industry has to increase production while overcoming the effects of climate change. This project assessed these challenges by adopting genetic advancements in dairy farms in order to adapt the systems to climate change. Historical and prospected climate scenarios were simulated by using daily climate data from the SILO meteorology database. The different handling styles and climate fluctuations of two farms were simulated using DairyMod. Using current pasture species and livestock, it first was modelled the effects of climate change in 2050 and 2080 on pasture growth, feed consumption, and milk production. Afterward, it was modelled better adapted pastures (deeply rooted, or "DR" and heat-tolerant, or "HR"), as well as livestock (with higher feed conversion efficiency, or "FCE"). The growth patterns of pastures will be impacted by climate change as the spring growing season will be shorter. Climate change will also result in less milk production and less feed consumption. The combined adapted perennial ryegrass DR+HT is the most effective adaptation alternative to counteract the effects of climate change on pasture growth. The combined adapted perennial ryegrass DR+HT and the multiple adaptations FCE+DR+HT are the most effective ways to counteract the effects on overall feed consumption. The best adaptation strategy to combat the decline in milk production is to use the multiple adaptations FCE+DR+HT. The use of genetically modified dairy cattle with ryegrass can increase milk supply by up to 5% until 2050. These findings suggest that genetically modified dairy cattle and genetically modified ryegrass must be introduced together in order to adapt a dairy system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The climate variations have lot of the financial, medical and economic consequences. Studies showed that climate plays the vital role in virus transmission. This study analyzed the impact of climate indicators on COVID-19 concerning Pakistan. The secondary data is used for analysis as obtained from world health organization, ministry of health Pakistan and Pakistan meteorological department. The results show that all the research variables like temperature maximum, temperature minimum, humidity, and wind flow are positively and significantly correlated to COVID-19. Findings show that temperature maximum, temperature minimum, and wind flow have the positive and significant association with COVID-19, while the humidity has a positive impact on COVID-19 transmission. The study show that minimum temperature is favorable for the virus transmission. Thus, the study provides significant results in reaching the decision and concluding the study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the census of 2017, the population of Pakistan has exceeded 220 million. Most of the population depends on agriculture to earn their livings and to meet the desired level of food security. Despite all the progress the country has made so far, its population combating with the threat of food insecurity. Tharparkar, (the largest desert area not only in Pakistan but also in the South Asian region) is considered at the front line district in the country about food insecurity and malnourishment. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceptions of the respondents for ongoing food security status in the district of Tharparkar, Sindh-Pakistan and to highlight the role of extension service delivery organizations in the area. District Tharparkar is the most vulnerable area in the country for food insecurity. Tharparkar has four tehsils such as Mithi, Diplo, Chachro and Nangerparkar. Out of four tehsils, one tehsil Mithi was selected purposively. A well-structured questionnaire and key informant interview guide were used for data collection. Collected data were analyzed by statistical package for social sciences (SPSS). According to the results of the survey, the majority of the respondents perceived that factors such as global warming and climate change, unproductive land, depleting water resources, unavailability of drought-tolerant crop varieties, lack of health facilities, lack of awareness for food security measures, lack of Extension services in the area, limited income resources, and insufficient information for food security were the main factors cause food insecurity in the study area. The results further described the strategies adopted by respondents in the study area to combat food insecurity were the construction of water storage facilities, reliance on animals' food products, kitchen gardening, reuse of preserved food and other products, migration to food secure areas and reduced number of meals eaten in a day. It is recommended that government should focus on education, employment opportunities, development of natural resources for producing food secure crops and start awareness movements among the inhabitants of Tharparkar to revitalize the status of food security in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study contributes to the local responses to address the impact of climate change in agriculture sector in the context of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Pakistan's agriculture is vulnerable to the cataclysmic transformations in the climate system; causing productivity loss, soil degradation, water scarcity, resource depletion etc. Climate change awareness empowers the farming communities to take appropriate measures to mitigate the negative consequences of this phenomenon but the responses are not necessarily identical in scale and forms. In developed countries, climate change awareness is much advanced therefore, their climate change adaptations are also far better than those employed by farmers in the developing countries like Pakistan. The climate change awareness obviously determines the nature, quality and strength of climate change adaptations. The current study measures the impact of climate change awareness on climate change adaptation and climate change adaptation issues (constraints) and their interactions to help in addressing the native agricultural issues emerging from global climate change. The statistical analysis of the field data supports the assumptions about positive association between climate change awareness and climate change adaptations (R2=44.6, B=.875 and P-value=.000) and negative interaction between climate change awareness and climate change adaptation issues (R²=.318, B=-.707 and P-value=.000). Further, the role of geographic-zones and respondents' educational level has also been found significant. Therefore, more efforts, if directed, to enhance climate change awareness through dissemination of authentic and need based information, would significantly help farmers to undertake more relevant, effective and efficient adaptation measures, thereby, contributing in increasing the agriculture yield and reduce losses. However, imprudent projection of climate change adaptation issues without proper awareness about the associated dynamics, complexities and implications may petrify the farmers thus, yielding negative ramifications with regards to the outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers can significantly reduce the risk of disaster and other crises through adequate strategies focused on reduction of vulnerability. By designing and implementing the ways and means that protect the affected population especially those physically vulnerable to the environment. If we analyse the changing perception in this field, increasing awareness indicate that states within their obligations have to respect, fulfill and protect their environment. They have the primary responsibility for reducing any risk (manmade and natural) including international community bind by the duty to provide support and mechanism for risk reduction. One of the milestone was "Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) at the world conference on Disaster Reduction in 2005, based on 10 year plan with multi-stake holders and multisectoral plan to invest in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), as a means to build disaster-resilient societies".1 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: Climate change; technical progress; crops yield; ARDL model; Pakistan EN Climate change technical progress crops yield ARDL model Pakistan INTRODUCTION Climate change has direct and disastrous effects on agriculture segment since it specifically relies upon weather variability (Meza and Silva, 2009). In the short-run, the temperature has a negative and significant effect on the wheat yield which means that a 1 percent rise in temperature will lead to a 1.02 percent decrease in wheat yield. Climate change, technical progress, crops yield, ARDL model, Pakistan. [Extracted from the article]

All living organisms are affected by drought in terms of food and health. In the current scenario of drought and gradual change in climate that can result in water stress for terrestrial vegetation, droughtresistant plants should be sorted out. The objective of this study was to explore the growth behavior of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (recommended for waterlogged areas) and Tamarix aphylla (recommended for arid regions) under water stress. Therefore, a pot experiment was carried out with three treatments: Well-watered, 25% and 50 % drought to achieve said objective. It was found that drought negatively affected plant growth. The mean heights of E. camaldulensis and T. aphylla were maximum (38.16 and 34.7 cm, respectively) at control irrigation while minimum height was found (17.1 and 24.9 cm, respectively) at 50% drought. So, the reduction in plant height of E. camaldulensis was more (55.6%) as compared to T. aphylla (28.1%). The reduction in root length of both species was 19% and 9% respectively at 50 % drought. High drought stress (50%) resulted in a reduction of 49% and 38% dry matter in E. camaldulensis and T. aphylla respectively. The relative water contents (RWC) were more (71.5%) in E. Camaldulensis at the control level but significantly reduced (40%) at 50% stress while in T. aphylla less difference (52%-44%) was found in RWC. There was no significant difference found in diameter in both species. Though E. Camaldulensis could survive the periodic drought spells, however, the performance of T. aphylla was found better in this study. Consequently, research work is necessary to study Eucalyptus camaldulensis genetically and physiologically to bring modification in this plant that can make it less water demanding to conserve water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on empirical data on temperature and rainfall change from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region of North-West Pakistan to illustrate that climate change is no longer theoretical. It is real and becoming self-evident. Climate assessment 1981-2010 and future scenario 2010-2040 for KP noted little shifts in the annual average rainfall. However seasonal shifts are rather significant. In all the districts, spring and summer rains are showing an increasing trend whereas fall and winter rains are continuously declining. This shows that spring and summer are becoming wetter and fall and winter are becoming dryer till 2040. Nearly two-third or more of the total rains are received during spring and monsoon. In decadal scenario, it is likely that annual average precipitation will continue to increase till 2030 and start declining during 2030-2040 in all the seasons. The temperature scenarios also present a noticeable change. An average increase in temperature in KP is 1.8°C during 2010-2040. In the Northern districts (mountain areas) it is the 1.9°C closely followed by Central with 1.8°C and the South 1.6°C (where South is already a heat surplus zone). These trends are crucial in terms of disasters with likelihood of spring / monsoon floods and winter drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study entitled "an assessment of effects of climate change on human lives in context of local response to agricultural production was conducted in District Buner-Pakistan. Tehsil Gagra, out of the six tehsils of district Bunir, constituted the universe of the study. A sample size of 370, was randomly selected from the total population of 10142 through proportional allocation method. The conceptual framework comprised of two study variables i.e "agriculture production" and "climate change effects on human life". To established association between the study variables the perception of climate change effect on human life was indexed and cross tabulated with local response to agricultural production at bi-variate level, using chi-square test statistics. The study found that climate change effects on human life had a highly significant association (P=0.000) with greenhouse gases has decreased the agricultural productivity; climate change has reduced the production of crops(P=0.000); soil erosion and landslides have increased(P=0.000); Due to climate change forests, fruits and vegetables have become scarce(P=0.000); water logging and salinity has affected the production of crops(P=0.000); and loss of agricultural productivity affecting the local economy with effects on human lives. The study concluded that, climate change has drastically affected the agricultural practices, resulting into low crop production, soil erosions and water logging salinity. Taking climate change adaptation measure's to minimize the impacts on agriculture and economy as well as policy formulation and implementation to cut short the emission of greenhouse gases were major recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hydrologiest are debating on the rise in global glacier melting. However, the situation in Karakoram glaciers seems not the same. Therefore, it is essential to measure the status of snow in the Karakoram region of (GB; Gilgit-Baltistan) Pakistan. To this end, the current study examines the dynamics of snow cover using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 8-days sow-cover in response to in-situ meteorological indicators from four high altitude automatic weather stations in Upper Indus Basin (UIB). The results conclude that the 8-days snow cover images not only show the qualities of MODIS (high resolution) images it's also characterized the high accuracies for snow-cover classification (~85 to 95 %). We analysed the snow-cover dynamics in the UIB and computed the maximum quantity of snow cover days (SCD) in a year that shadowed an increasing trend from 2000-2014, with an increase in snow-covered area (SCA) of 45.04% to 59.26% of the total land area of GB. Besides, there is a slightly decreasing trend observed in the SCA of Hindukush, and Himalayan mountains region in the last 15 years, due to increases in temperature and precipitation. Spearman's correlation analysis is also obtained between monthly and annually snow-cover changes (snow accumulation /depletion over six elevation zones above 2000 m elevation) and temperature. The month of January shows decreasing trends for five elevation zones out of six zones below 6000 m elevation. In spring, particularly in March shows a decreasing trend for two zones above 5000m elevations, while shows increasing trend in autumn for three zones above 4000 m elevation. A negative trend observed between monthly SCA and Khunjerab area (mean temperature and precipitation), and similar results are also noted for the remaining three regions such as Deosai, Naltar and Shandoor of UIB. The study suggests that, in the UIB region, climate change also employ a significant influence on regional SCA and days, as well as the distribution of snow-cover. These findings help for the forecasting of seasonal flow in the area and signifying snow-cover as a possible predictor of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

No doubt, climate change is a severe issue and is affecting agriculture directly. Present research was done to know the farmers perceptions about agricultural extension services in disseminating climate change knowledge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Data was collected from the 400 farmers of the two purposively sampled districts as these two were the highly vulnerable areas from climate change. The major source of climate change information of the majority of farmers was electronic media and the overall regression analysis of the climate change perceptions reveal that climate change is happening and long-term mean temperatures have been increased with a significant decrease in the long-term mean rainfall over the past decades. The study recommends that farmers should be trained well to more appropriately tackle the menace of climate change, extension workers should be made sure to visit the farmers in their fields on regular basis, and Government should promote information technology in order to properly disseminate the climate change knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to assess the impact of climate change on productivity of maize in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province of Pakistan over a period of thirty years from 1986 to 2015. According to the ecological landscape, KP is divided into three climatic regions; the northern climatic region, the central climatic region, and the southern climatic region. The study uses Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model for maize crop in KP. This study reveals that the impacts of climatic variables are increasing from the southern climatic region to the northern climatic region. The study also reveals that any negative shock to the crops productivity can be overcome by increasing the area under maize cultivation. It is concluded that the variations in climatic variables have significant effects on maize productivity in the short-run as well as in the long-run in all the climatic regions of KP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the most complex problems faced by the world today is climate change. Agriculture in many ways is affected by climate change and has impact for productivity of crops particularly in rainfed areas. Climate change related research remained a poorly investigated area in KP and instant study filled that gap by investigating farmers' perceptions and adaptation about change in climate and impact of change in climate on wheat productivity in Lakki Marwat. A combination of multi-stage sampling and simple random sampling used to select five Union Councils (UCs), one village council from each UC and one village from each village council. Out of 611 households (HHs), 180 head/elders selected through random sampling process were interviewed. The secondary data, spread over 30 years from 1984 to 2013 pertaining to temperature, precipitation, area under cultivation and yield of crops was collected. Analytical models used are Logit Model and ARDL Model. Regarding farmers perceptions, results show that age of farmers, farming experience and education level of the farmers are positively and significantly, except education, associated with perception regarding climate change. However, size of HH, farming types and area under cultivation are negatively associated. Whereas association is insignificant in respect of farming types and area under cultivation. Regarding farmers' adaptation, results show that the coefficient of age of farmers and farming experience are positive and significant. The coefficient of household size, cropping date, mulching and crop varieties were found positive but insignificant while coefficient of intercropping is negative but insignificant. The results pertaining to impact of temperature and precipitation on wheat yield suggest long run relationship among the variables. Temperature is negatively and significantly related. The precipitation is positively and significantly related. Short run relationship implies that around 73% deviations from long-term equilibrium are adjusted every year. Based on objectives of the research study and field findings recommendations offered include; farmers awareness drive to enhance capacity to strengthen local resilience, participation of farming community in formulation of policies, making meteorological information available to farmers, Design research plans to evolve wheat varieties addressing changing climatic challenges, construct water harvesting structures for high efficiency irrigation and further research to estimate range of temperature and precipitation within which crops under study perform better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted in Kalam Forest Division (KFD) and Kaghan Forest Division (KaFD), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, with the objectives to assess the climate regimes and changes thereof during the period 1965-2015, and their impacts on ring-widths of Spruce (Picea smithiana), along with comparison of the results inter se the two Forest Divisions. Results indicated that KFD and KaFD had significantly different climate regimes of temperature and precipitation. Mean annual maximum and minimum temperatures and mean annual temperature at the two Forest Divisions during 1965-2015 significantly increased, while mean annual precipitation significantly increased in KaFD, but non-significantly decreased in KFD. Mean values of ring-widths of Spruce at KFD and KaFD during 1965-2015 were 1.36±0.02 mm and 1.48±0.02 mm and changes thereof - 0.11 mm and - 0.13 mm, respectively, showing a decreasing trend. The difference in the ring-widths and changes therein in the two Forest Divisions were significant (p<0.01). Correlation of ringwidth with temperature precipitation and response functions of Spruce in KFD and KaGD for the period 1965-2015 indicated similar patterns, and were significantly (p<0.01) negative with temperature, but nonsignificant (p<0.05) positive with precipitation. The values of R2 for ring widths were high, indicating a good fit of the linear models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]