Climate change, COP 26 Life at 50 degrees Celsius in Sibi, Balochistan, forcing people to relocate?

when birds fly in the air and die and fall to the ground
when birds fly in the air and die and fall to the ground


"It's a time when birds fly in the air and die and fall to the ground. There is no need to put water and leaves in the teapot and put it on the stove, the tea is already prepared.


Zaman Khan knows that he has to leave his house before the time comes. He remembers that several times when some members of his tribe were late in leaving their homes before the time came, the heat hit them. There were some people who fell unconscious on the road and died before reaching the hospital.


In the month of April, the heat starts to intensify in Sibi district of Balochistan province. In the same month, Zaman Khan and dozens of his tribesmen abandoned their mud houses in the Landi area. In these mud houses, shady trees are not to be found, and in the distance nothing but herbs and shrubs can be seen on the barren land.


Climate change, COP 26
Climate change, COP 26


In April 2017, the temperature in Sibi reached 48 degrees. According to the provincial meteorological department, the temperature was touching 52 degrees Celsius the following month. The temperature stays the same on most days of the month.


Zaman Khan told the BBC that as summer approaches, it becomes difficult for them to get drinking water. "The ground gets so hot that it's impossible to keep your feet down. Imagine if it was so hot that the birds would die and fall from the sky to the ground and what would happen if you didn't get water to drink? '


Climate change: causes, effects and goals


In this scorching heat, the question of finding work outside the home does not arise. The people of Zaman Khan's tribe have been raising camels and cattle for decades, but for some time now they have lost this source of livelihood.


In the scorching heat, most of their cattle die due to lack of rainfall and unavailability of water. In such a case, if they do not work hard, it will be difficult to get two meals a day. They are forced to relocate.


In early April, they pack up their belongings and load them onto trucks and head for the provincial capital, Quetta, about 150km away. Village after village in Sibi becomes desolate. For the next six months, there is only silence.