KARACHI: To mark Pakistan’s Independence Day, the Pakistan Red Crescent (PRC) Sindh Branch held an inter-school debate competition on climate change at Graceful Grammar High School, Baldia Town, Karachi, on Tuesday.

According to a press release issued by the PRC-Sindh Media and Communication Department, the Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) Unit has assigned a topic to four government and four private schools to participate in a debate competition.

The topic of the debate was, “Is Pakistan capable of evolving as a developed country while dealing with the effects of climate change?” More than 250 students and teachers from all the invited schools attended the event.

In a message, the Provincial Secretary PRC-Sindh Kanwar Waseem said that Pakistan has been ranked the fifth most affected country in the world due to extreme weather events between 1999 and 2018.

Moreover, Pakistan’s economy relies heavily on agriculture, and any changes in temperature and disruptions in water availability and monsoon patterns can wreak havoc on the livelihoods of millions of people, he added.

In recent years, Pakistan has faced floods, droughts, heatwaves and other stressors; therefore, climate change is now Pakistan’s most emerging and significant issue, and each of us has a responsibility to do our part to mitigate the effects of climate change for our future generations, Provincial Secretary emphasized.

Ms Iram Ayaz, Program Officer CCA, addressed the participants and stated that the debate competition strengthened the Climate Change Adaptation Program’s goal of contributing to community resilience and raising awareness of climate change and support for climate action.

During the concluding ceremony, the Head of the Graceful Grammar School, Miss Kiran Zehri, applauded the Pakistan Red Crescent for organizing such programs in schools to raise awareness about the critical problem of climate change. The winners also received shields, certificates, and prizes.

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