Latest news with #ManzoorAhmad
India.com
05-07-2025
- Climate
- India.com
Heatwave In Kashmir Breaks 72-Year-Old Record, Temperature Soars To 37.4 Degrees Celsius
Kashmir recorded a temperature of 37.4 degrees Celsius after 72 years, which was the hottest day of this season. Climate change, temperature, and prolonged dry spells in Kashmir broke many records this year. Sales of air conditioners and coolers increased by 200 percent in Kashmir, where people usually did not even use fans; today, almost every house has an Air Conditioner (AC). On the other hand, Srinagar recorded a temperature of 37.4 degrees Celsius, the highest July temperature since 1953. It is also the third-highest July temperature since 1892. The data shows that not only Srinagar but also hill stations in Kashmir are recording the hottest July since 1892, with an average maximum temperature of 37 degrees Celsius and a minimum of 22 degrees Celsius, which is the second hottest July in 133 years. Temperatures in Kashmir have been above 35 degrees Celsius for the past 25 days and today it touched the previous highest of 37.4 degrees Celsius in 1953. Temperature Rise To Rain Deficit What is worrying is not just the rise in temperature but also the 60 to 99 percent rainfall deficit in Kashmir from December to June 2025. This has led to a sharp drop in the water level in the Jhelum River, affecting agriculture, horticulture, and tourism. Paddy fields are drying up, and apple production is also likely to be affected. 'Our winters are also getting warmer and even the monsoon is getting warmer, over time this extreme heat will increase and the temperature will rise, there was less snowfall in winter, January was dry and warm, May to June has been warm, and the dry period has been warm throughout the region,' said IMD Director Mukhtar Ahmad. Kashmir's Climate Kashmir's climate is warming at twice the pace of the global average; it is estimated that the temperature will increase more in 2025. The mountainous regions are particularly vulnerable to global warming. This year Every month the temperature was above normal and at times it was hotter than traditionally hot areas like Jammu or parts of Rajasthan. Those drastic changes in the climate have also affected the lifestyle of Kashmir. A few years ago, only 10 percent of the hotels in Kashmir had air conditioners while 30 percent had ceiling fans. Old hotels in Kashmir's hill stations like Pahalgam, Gulmarg, and Sonamarg did not have fans at all. But now, not only commercial properties but every second house in Kashmir has ACs, water coolers, and ceiling fans. The sale of these items has increased by almost 200 percent. The sale of air conditioners and water coolers in Kashmir has surged due to the unprecedented heat. Manzoor Ahmad, an AC dealer, said, 'It is very hot, I have seen such heat for the first time. We have sold all our stock, and only a few coolers and ACs are left with us. The demand for ACs has increased a lot, every third person is asking for ACs.' Rafiq Ahmad, another AC dealer, stated, 'There is a lot of demand for ACs and coolers because the trend has changed; people are demanding ACs and coolers, every house has ACs now, the demand is high because of the increasing heat.' For the first time, air conditioners and water coolers have become a necessity in Kashmir. Dealers said their sales have increased from 10 to 15 units per day to around 200 units during these peak summer days. Historically, rising temperatures have made these things a necessity for the common people. A customer named Ghulam Mahuddin said, 'The weather has changed so we need it we can't sit at home the children feel very hot so we want to give them some relief, I think I haven't seen such heat in 50 years If we don't have such facilities it is difficult to live now.' Another customer, Ejaz Ahmad, said, 'The weather has changed. We used to have rain here, which usually keeps cool temperatures, but now it is so hot that the children are not able to study, so we thought of getting an AC installed. I have seen such heat for the first time.' The number of roadside juice vendors and ice cream sellers has also increased in Srinagar, Anantnag, and Baramulla. These vendors serve fresh fruit juices like sugarcane, mangoes, oranges to locals and tourists to get relief from the heat. Jhelum River, the main water source of Kashmir, has about 30 percent less water level than normal. This has created a drought-like situation and Kashmir's apple growers, and other farmers are quite worried.
Business Recorder
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
PPP urges govt to increase salaries, EOBI pension
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) urged the federal government to increase 50 percent salaries of government employees and 100 percent pension of EOBI (Employees' Old-Age Benefits Institution) in the coming budget-2025-26. Addressing at a news conference on Tuesday, PPP senior leader and Central In-charge Labour Chaundry Manzoor Ahmad said that according to a World Bank survey, 44 percent of Pakistan's population are living under poverty line. He urged the government to minimum increase 50 percent in the salaries of government employees and 100 percent increase in the EOBI pension. He said that the government should fix Rs 50,000 wage of a labourer and an industrial worker. Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed said that he had informed President Asif Ali Zardari about the problems and demands of workers and government employees during a meeting last week, to which, President Zardari had said that the development of society is not possible without providing relief to the workers. He said that the PPP has always taken steps to raise the standard of living of the workers and employed class. He demanded that the government should withdraw all measures taken in name of pension reforms. He said that workers' welfare and EOBI funds in Punjab should not be used in any other provincial project, as only workers and their families have the right to these funds. The PPP leader said that the government should clearly announce that it will not privatise or outsource PIA, Civil Aviation, WAPDA, OGDCL, other national institutions and provincial schools, colleges, hospitals and local government institutions of Punjab. He said that the government should withdraw the decision to close Utility Stores and PWD. PPP leader Chaudhry Manzoor Ahmed announced that the office bearers and workers of the People's Labour Bureau and Trade Unions will participate in the protest demonstration of government employees in front of the Parliament House on Tuesday (today) at 2 pm. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Time of India
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Amid fear & hope, life in J&K returning to normalcy
Srinagar: The intervening night of May 10-11 was the first after almost two weeks when the guns along the borders had fallen silent. After several days of escalated tension in the cities and border areas of Jammu and Kashmir and continuous aerial intrusions and artillery shelling, normal life is slowly limping back to normal. #Operation Sindoor India responds to Pak's ceasefire violation; All that happened India-Pakistan ceasefire reactions: Who said what Punjab's hopes for normalcy dimmed by fresh violations Residents in border areas along the Line of Control and International Border said that they are heaving a sigh of relief with many of them being able to visit the rubble of their broken homes and attend to the injured. Hundreds of people who have migrated to safer areas over the past two weeks from their homes along the LoC and IB are yet to go back to their homes permanently. Officials said that they have not reported any ceasefire violation during the night of May 10 and 11. "This peace is fragile but it is important for people who are in the direct line of fire. Our lives were hanging in balance and it is a miracle that we survived," said Manzoor Ahmad of Razerwani area of Uri . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Upto 15% Discount for Salaried Individuals ICICI Pru Life Insurance Plan Get Quote Undo Also Read: Kashmir's Pahalgam sparks Karachi's nightmare: Pakistan's economic lifeline vulnerable again? As many as 27 persons, including five armed forces personnel, were killed and scores others injured in intense exchange of shelling and drone attacks along the LoC and IB. At 5 pm on May 10, India and Pakistan reached an understanding to stop all firing and military action on land, air and seas. The two sides are again establishing contact on May 12. Live Events Also Read: Indian forces in Arabian Sea were ready to strike select targets, including Karachi, says DGMO Navy In Srinagar, people were seen shopping at the weekly Sunday market and public transport was operational. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Governor of J&K, Manoj Sinha visited the Government Medical College in Jammu and enquired about the health of residents of Jammu, Rajouri and Poonch, who sustained injuries in the cross-border shelling . Former CM of J&K Mehbooba Mufti visited the forward areas in Uri which was also impacted by heavy shelling.
Express Tribune
08-02-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Polio workers undeterred by harsh weather
SURGAN: Health workers are braving freezing temperatures this week to administer polio vaccinations in Azad Jammu and Kashmir after cases surged nationwide last year. Pakistan and neighbouring Afghanistan are the only countries where polio is endemic, and militants have for decades targeted vaccination teams and their security escorts. A police officer guarding polio vaccinators in the northwest was shot dead by militants on Monday, the first day of the annual campaign that is due to last a week. In Kashmir, health worker Manzoor Ahmad trudged up snowy mountains as temperatures dipped to minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) to administer polio vaccinations in the region. "It is a mountainous, hard area... we arrive here for polio vaccination despite the three feet of snowfall," Ahmad, who heads the polio campaign in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, told AFP. Social worker Mehnaz, who goes by one name and has been helping the vaccinators since 2018, said the difficult climate poses a huge risk to the vaccination teams. "We have no monthly salary... we come here to give polio shots to the children despite the glaciers and avalanches," she told AFP. "We risk our lives and leave our children at home." The challenge is larger this year for the country with a population of 240 million, after it recorded at least 73 polio cases in 2024 - a sharp increase from just six cases the year before. Health workers aim to vaccinate approximately 1,700 children within a week in the town of Surgan, around 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Pakistan-administered Kashmir. "Our target is to give polio shots to 750,000 children below the age of five," Ahmad said.
Express Tribune
05-02-2025
- Health
- Express Tribune
Polio vaccinators risk lives in freezing temperature to protect children
Listen to article Amid freezing temperatures, health workers in Azad Jammu Kashmir(AJK) are enduring harsh conditions to administer polio vaccinations following a surge in cases nationwide last year. Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan remain the only countries where polio is still endemic, with militants targeting vaccination teams and their security escorts for decades. On the first day of this year's annual polio vaccination campaign, a police officer guarding vaccinators in northwest Pakistan was killed by militants. The campaign is set to last one week. A health worker administers polio drops to a child during a door-to-door vaccination campaign amidst heavy snow in the Bakwali-Surgan area of Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley, on February 4, 2025. Photo:AFP In Kashmir, health worker Manzoor Ahmad trudged through three feet of snow, braving temperatures as low as minus six degrees Celsius (21 degrees Fahrenheit) to deliver vaccinations. 'It's a mountainous, challenging area… we arrive for polio vaccination despite the snow,' said Ahmad, who leads the campaign in the region. Social worker Mehnaz, who has been assisting the vaccinators since 2018, highlighted the dangers posed by the extreme climate. 'We have no monthly salary… we come here despite glaciers and avalanches,' she told. 'We risk our lives and leave our children at home.' Health workers sit on snow during a polio vaccination drive in Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley on February 4, 2025. Photo: AFP The challenge this year is greater, as Pakistan, with a population of 240 million, recorded at least 73 polio cases in 2024—an alarming increase from just six cases the previous year. In Surgan, located 150 kilometers (90 miles) north of Muzaffarabad, health workers aim to vaccinate around 1,700 children within the week. Our target is to vaccinate 750,000 children under five across the country with 4,000 teams visiting homes,' said Ahmad. 'There have been no polio cases in Kashmir for the last 24 years,' he added proudly. A health worker marks a child's finger after administering polio drops during a vaccination drive in Azad Jammu Kashmir's Neelum Valley on February 4, 2025. Photo: AFP Polio is easily preventable with an oral vaccine, but misinformation from some Islamic leaders, falsely claiming the vaccine contains pork or alcohol, has hindered progress. Despite these challenges, health workers continue their vital mission to protect children from the crippling disease.
