Adaptation to Climate Change and Mitigation of its Effects in the Arid Region of Pakistan (1961-2015)

This research explains the weather and climate fluctuation adaptation and easing of its effects in dry climate region of Pakistan, based on weather data obtained from 40 weather observatories for the time duration of 55 years (1960-2015).The area of study is covering about 77 percent of the entire country, characterized by hot dry long summers and short warm moist winters. Pakistan has been dynamic on international and local scales to espouse a steadfast climate change strategy for the lessening of climate change effects in the arid region. The existing policy of the country, regarding adaptation to weather change in the dry lands, has not fulfilled the obligations and it is required to appraise it sporadically as per the country’s economic, environmental and social desires. The main sectors that call for mitigation in the dry lands on national level are; surface and underground water, coastal management, overgrazing, deforestation, agriculture and livestock, drought and desertification, public awareness, emergency response, early warning system and monitoring, landuse change, waterlogging, energy and power resources, and health issues. The hydrological sector is more vulnerable to the effects of climate and weather changes in the study area. These effects will be reduced by means of fresh hydro-reservoirs, local dams, and waterway embankments to save the existing flow from swamping. It will also bring perfection in the sanitation and irrigation schemes, policy for flood water consumption, appraisal of the hydro-management policy, implementation, research and development funds

Community Based Flood Catastrophe Preparedness, Vulnerability, Management and Response of Layyah District, Punjab, Pakistan (1990-2015)

The study articulates the society supported flood disaster preparedness, vulnerability, management, and response in the Layyah district, southern Punjab, Pakistan. The area has recorded high summer temperature, low rainfall and an arid climate with an optimistic departure of one centimeter. At Taunsa barrage, the Indus river, as well as the Thal canal, show a decline in the annual flow, while it remains high at Chashma barrage having a heavy flow from July to October. Historically, the foremost disasters experienced in Layyah district are floods, earthquakes, droughts, epidemics, and fires. About 81 Potwar areas have been affected every year by flood disaster consisting of 36 medium and 45 high risks units. Obviously, the locals are the primary instrument to fight any catastrophe for their safety at the initial stage as they are admirable arbitrators of risk assessment, vulnerability, rehabilitation, excavation, and can acquire consistent estimations for their safety. The joint endeavors of the locals and government during predisaster and a post-disaster stage will make certain that how to provide crucial support as well as services to the distressed community throughout the Layyah district. The social or anthropogenic level arrangements for flood catastrophes are appreciated mutually at national and international levels

Pass-Through of SBP Policy Rate to Market Interest Rates: An Empirical Investigation

Market based implementation of monetary policy embeds a swift and complete pass-through of changes in policy rate to market interest rates. This impacts the lending and deposit rates (retail rates) of the banking system. Incomplete and slow pass-through impairs the effectiveness of monetary policy transmission mechanism. This study estimates the degree and the speed of interest rate pass-through in case of Pakistan. Monthly data on State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) policy rate, money market rates and banks’ retail lending/deposit rates from July 2001 to August 2011 is used to estimate an unrestricted autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model. The standard ARDL model allows for the estimation of an error correction model, which helps in differentiating short run impact of changes in policy rate from its long run impact on the banks’ lending rates. The results indicate that while there is a swift pass-through from the policy rate (T-bill rates and overnight rate) to money market rate, the impact of changes in money market rates on the bank deposit rates is not only sluggish, but also incomplete. However, banks’ lending rates on fresh loans are more responsive to changes in money market rates as the banks have the luxury to take into account the changes in opportunity cost of funding

Role of Demand and Supply Shocks in Driving Inflation: A Case Study of Pakistan

This study attempts to measure the relative significance of structural shocks in explaining inflation. We use monthly time series data on key macroeconomic variables of Pakistan from July 1992 to June 2011, and structural vector auto-regressions (SVAR) to understand the role of supply and demand shocks as key drivers of inflation. Long-run restrictions according to standard aggregate demand and aggregate supply framework are employed to identify structural shocks in the system. The results indicate that inflation follows a sluggish time path in response to supply shock as compared to demand shock of nominal nature. Specifically, around 75 percent of long-run impact of supply shock on inflation is realized over a period of one year horizon as compared with 90 percent for demand shock. In terms of relative significance, supply side disturbances explain 48 percent of variation in inflation over the estimation period. Within demand side, nominal shocks are relatively more important than the real demand shock. The share of real demand shock was around 10 percent, while the reaming 42 percent was attributed to nominal shock. These results suggest that in addition to monetary factors, supply side disturbances should be taken into account for better understanding of and ‘handle’ on inflation in Pakistan

Role of Demand and Supply Shocks in Driving Inflation: A Case Study of Pakistan

This study attempts to measure the relative significance of structural shocks in explaining inflation. We use monthly time series data on key macroeconomic variables of Pakistan from July 1992 to June 2011, and structural vector auto-regressions (SVAR) to understand the role of supply and demand shocks as key drivers of inflation. Long-run restrictions according to standard aggregate demand and aggregate supply framework are employed to identify structural shocks in the system. The results indicate that inflation follows a sluggish time path in response to supply shock as compared to demand shock of nominal nature. Specifically, around 75 percent of long-run impact of supply shock on inflation is realized over a period of one year horizon as compared with 90 percent for demand shock. In terms of relative significance, supply side disturbances explain 48 percent of variation in inflation over the estimation period. Within demand side, nominal shocks are relatively more important than the real demand shock. The share of real demand shock was around 10 percent, while the reaming 42 percent was attributed to nominal shock. These results suggest that in addition to monetary factors, supply side disturbances should be taken into account for better understanding of and ‘handle’ on inflation in Pakistan

Climate of the Gilgit-Baltistan Province, Pakistan

The present study focuses on the climate conditions of Gilgit Baltistan. It includes the distribution ofdifferent weather elements like precipitation, temperature, number of rainy days, humidity, wind speed, air pressure,evapotranspiration, sunshine, factors affecting climate, and climate classification. Due to glaciation, the area is badlyeroded and consists of deep valleys and moraines. There is a marked variability between the climates of the eastern andwestern observatories of the area. Mostly, terrace agriculture is practiced in the area with deciduous and alpine forests.Based on temperature, the area has been divided into three distinct climate regions, namely, mild, cool, and cold.Whereas, based on precipitation, it classified into arid, semi-arid and undifferentiated highlands. Chilas is the hottestarea of the province, while Astor and Skardu are the coldest. The study area receives heavy precipitation from localthunderstorms, particularly during April and May. There are four rainy seasons, namely winter, pre-monsoon,monsoon, and post monsoon precipitation. The highest precipitation in the area is observed at Astore, while the lowestat Gupis. The relative humidity is below 55% throughout the year and causes chill with low temperature and crackingin human skins. Based on the variability of weather elements, the province has been divided into three macro, threemeso and six micro climate regions

3-Methyl­thio­benzamide

In the title compound, C8H9NS, the dihedral angle between the aromatic ring and the thio­amide fragment is 36.0 (2)°. There are π-stacking inter­actions between coplanar aryl fragments, with a centroid–centroid separation of 3.658 (2) Å. In addition, there are inter­molecular hydrogen bonds between the amino group and the S atoms

Assessment of Complete Coverage of Expanded Program on Immunization in Children at Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan

Background: Goal of the expanded program on immunization (EPI) is to ensure full immunization of children under one year of age to globally eradicate poliomyelitis, tetanus, measles-related deaths and to extend all new vaccines and preventive health interventions to children in all parts of the world. Demographic and health survey 2012-13 showed that in Pakistan complete immunization coverage is very low (54%) to achieve this goal. The objective of this study was to assess any improvement in terms of vaccination coverage in Pakistan in the last 3-4 years.Material and Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at outpatient department of Pediatric Medicine of Mayo Hospital Lahore from May, 2016 till November, 2016. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was used to include patients after taking informed consent. Demographic details were collected and parents were questioned about different vaccinations received and confirmed through vaccination card. Data analysis was done through SPSS version 20 and results were presented as frequencies and percentages. Chi-square test was applied for association among categorical variables.Results: Complete coverage of expanded program on immunization was achieved in 86% children. A statistically significant difference was noted between mother’s education and immunization coverage of children (P-value 0.013).Conclusions: Education of mother and socioeconomic status were two significant factors affecting immunization coverage. In order to meet target of 95% immunization coverage rate set by WHO, more awareness should be created among people with low socioeconomic status along with improvement of immunization facilities in these areas.Key words: Children, Expanded Program on Immunization, Immunization Coverag