Safdar Ali Shirazi

The preliminary study of urbanization, fossil fuels consumptions and CO 2 emission in Karachi

According to population, Karachi is the first largest city of Pakistan and 9th largest in the world. During last three decades, it has faced mass urbanization, huge population growth, many fold increase in vehicles and industrial development. As a result the demand of more energy in form of fossil fuels increased for domestic, industrial and transportation purpose. In this research the maximum available data of Karachi about urbanization, population and vehicles growth, industrialization, energy consumption and CO2 emissions are analyzed. Time periods considered for this work are according to the availability of the data. The results show that during 1947 to 2008, both urban population and urban area increased to 1500%. During 1990 to 2008, the percentage growth in vehicles is double than that of population growth during this time period. During 1980 to 2007 the consumption of oil and petrol, natural gas and coal increased to 219%, 365% and 287%, respectively. The emission of CO2 jumped from 39 million metric tons in 1980 to 151 million metric tons in 2007.

Urbanization effects on temperature trends of Lahore during 1950‐2007

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the trends of changing temperature of Lahore in Pakistan due to invigorating urbanization process since 1950‐2007.Design/methodology/approach – This research is designed by using the numerical time series data of mean minimum temperature (MMiT), mean maximum temperature (MMxT) and mean annual temperature (MAT). The growth in urban population, area and transportation are also evaluated by using the available data. Linear regression method is applied to investigate the results of change in temperature. Three different approaches to examine the MAT are testified; first as an entire period (1950‐2007), and then by dividing the entire period into two equal phases as Phase I (1950‐1974) and Phase II (1975‐2207). MMiT and MMxT are analysed for the entire period without making any division.Findings – The results of the paper are significantly indicating an increase in MAT and MMiT which have risen up to 0.89 and 2.51°C, respectively, while MMxT remained resolute t...

Study of Urban Heat Island of Karachi by Using Finite Volume Mesoscale Model

Karachi is the largest and most populous metropolitan city of Pakistan and the main seaport and financial centre of the country. Rapid urbanization during last 40 to 50 years caused to accelerate its population to 23.7 million. The objective of this work was to study the impact of urbanization on development of urban heat island (UHI) of Karachi city. The study was conducted by using Finite Volume Mesoscale Model (FVM) in which topography from GTOPO30, land-use from GLC 2000 and Meteorological data from NCEP were used as an input to run the simulation. The simulations were run for three days starting at 00:00 (GMT) on 19 th day of April and ending at 00:00 (GMT) on 22 nd day of April over selected domain with resolution of 3x3 km of 30 cells. The results showed that there is significance urban heat island presence in Karachi city where the urban area has 5.6°C to 13.5°C higher temperature than its surrounding non-urban areas depending upon the time of a day.

Analysis of socio-environmental impacts of the loss of urban trees and vegetation in Lahore, Pakistan: a review of public perception

IntroductionThis paper focused on the process of urbanization in Lahore and its correlation with the loss of urban vegetation and perceived environmental impacts based on local population’s perception through administration of a questionnaire survey. Lahore is known as a city of gardens and green spaces in Pakistan and always possessed rich green character in its long history. For the past few decades due to rapid urbanization, the city has lost its aesthetically important urban vegetation, tress, and greenery. The field studies and remote sensing data revealed that the loss of vegetation has been experienced at an astonishing rate in many union councils of the city.MethodsThis study was conceived to probe importance and value of the urban tress and vegetation of Lahore in an environmental context and its general importance for the residents of the city. The objectives were to analyze the role of vegetation in the life of citizens; the specific objective was to reveal the attitudes and responses of city dwellers about loss of urban trees/vegetation and its role in the overall environment, process of urbanization, and maintenance strategies. In the present paper, perception of local people (n = 2080) regarding the socio-environmental impacts due to the ongoing process of urbanization and detriments of vegetation loss has been probed through administration of a household questionnaire. The collected data has been tested with respondent’s age, gender, marital status, education, monthly income, and occupation.ResultsThis study was an attempt to document and explore the change in historical transformation in vegetation and perception of the sample population of Lahore. This perception survey has revealed that urbanization is the major cause of loss of vegetation and has caused a number of perceived environmental problems in the city.ConclusionsThe study underlined an analysis of people’s perceptions regarding the loss of trees and vegetation . The perceived socio-environmental findings revealed that the urbanization and population growth are the fundamental reasons for trees/vegetation loss in the city.

Spatial Variability of Urban Heat Island of Sargodha City in Pakistan

Sargodha is one of the most important cities of Pakistan. Located in the center of Pakistan, it is the hub of the Pakistan Air Force. Rapid urbanization in the city has caused it to expand it farther from its center. Sargodha is 11th most populated metropolitan city in Pakistan. Currently, it has 0.7 million population and covers an area of 52 km2. The objective of this study was to measure the spatial variability of urban heat island (UHI) in different areas of the city in comparison with the temperature of the urban center. The meteorological data was measured by installing digital weather stations at four sites, 3 within the city by considering the areas as urban highly dense, urban less dense and urban periphery and one at rural site almost 10 km away from the city center. The result highlighted that difference in temperature between urban densely built area and rural site was highest. The difference in temperature increased as one moved away from the city center where urban areas were found warmer than the sites comparatively away from the city center. It was observed that the UHI intensity is not same in different areas of the city. The highest intensity of UHI is observed on Sunday where it was measured 5.7 °C.

SWOT analysis for socio-ecological landscape variation as a precursor to the management of the mountainous Kanshi watershed, Salt Range of Pakistan

ABSTRACT Variations in geo-environmental attributes differ strongly from those of urban anthropogenic structures. Similarly, these types of structures are self-directed and arranged and prone to abrupt process-related changes and modifications. Thus, there are many reasons why planned urbanization forms in association with disturbances in ecosystem mobility. The current research highlights these variations in the context of social–cultural assessments within the Jhelum River watershed, which strongly expresses urbanization structure development mechanisms. The climate ranges from semi-arid to subhumid subtropical and sub-mountainous climate, though the extreme temperatures may rise as high as 49.4°C in June and may drop as low as −1.6°C in January. The rainfall is low in the southwest and gradually increases towards the northeast, whereas the Salt Range is the major topographic feature that controls climatic impacts and promotes sustainable development. Cross-disciplinary methods are adopted in this investigation to assess the social–ecological landscape system (SELS) in terms of its mobility and degree of urbanization. The Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda recognize that human livelihoods and the management of natural resources cannot be addressed separately. Investing in the sustainability of mountain communities and ecosystem conservation and protection will provide benefits for humanity as a whole. It pertains to the commensurate development of the SELS and its response to interruptions. Thus, a reliable SWOT analysis for management approaches is introduced that may enable the development of competencies that promote and lead towards rapid improvements in the sustainability of retrograde urban infrastructure, including watersheds.

Spatial Distribution and Trends of Fertility Differentials in Toba Tek Singh District, Punjab-Pakistan

This study examines socio-economic and demographic factors as fertility differentials and draws conclusions upon data collected from some selected rural and urban localities of Toba Tek Sing-Punjab. The analysis carried to examine change in fertility trends and preferences in relation to children ever born to currently married women. The ideal family size from the both localities is 3.98 which, is still reckoned high as compared to the (NGRP) National Growth Rate in Pakistan which is 3.80. The dependent variable is reproductive preference measured by a single indicator- ideal no. of children and gender in both urban and rural localities as same study was conducted by National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS) in 1990-91 and 2006-07. In Pakistan number of demographic surveys has revealed that woman of reproductive age generally prefer more children than their own preferred family size. The aim of this study is to contribute into the existing literature on the geographical patterns of fertility differentials in a district of the Punjab. This will help planners to formulate more effective fertility related policies and programmes in the country. This is also a continuum of DHS conducted in mid 1980s to elaborate fertility patterns among married couples. The goal is to dig deeper into the relationship between education and fertility has been a central focus within demography and related social sciences. Higher education is associated with higher age at first birth and lower number of children discussed the implication of findings in the context of policy framework to enhance the public awareness about the small family in context with high quality life. Higher fertility in a country like Pakistan is rooted in cultural believes about children and number, pre-natal control measures should be targeted more at women attitude to large family. This is to provide policy makers with an understanding of the potential demand for fertility control and help in formulating policies to reduce fertility and improve socio-economic climate of the district.