KARACHI: Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Friday expressed serious concern about the cutting of thousands of trees in Karachi and termed it a loss that we can’t even count.
“Trees serve us in multiple ways, most importantly by absorbing air pollution, releasing oxygen, reducing temperature and improving environment,” said PMA Secretary General Dr SM Qaiser Sajjad in a statement. He regrated that instead of growing more trees to cool off environment and ease the impact of rising temperature in the city, the government opted to remove the already grown trees, whereas other countries of the world are engaged in massive tree plantation and conservation campaigns.
The city and provincial governments should realize that we need to grow more trees to fight climate change, he added. Dr Qaiser said trees are the unsung heroes in the fight against climate change. Not only do they pull carbon out of the atmosphere but also help communities and ecosystems adapt to extreme weather events. They slow flood waters, reduce temperatures in urban areas, and make people happy and healthier, said the PMA leader. Dr Qaiser asked the government to immediately stop cutting trees for sake of improving Karachi’s environment; otherwise, the burden of diseases would rise further.