Discussants:               

•       Dr. Muhammad Hanif, Director, Metrological Department
•       Mr. Shakeel Ahmed Ramay, Senior Researcher, SDPI 

(Concept Note)

One of the major weather hazards in South Asian winter is heavy fog, which may extend over tens to thousands of kilometers and last for several days. Fog reduces visibility, often causing accidents, besides affecting human health in other ways. An increasing trend in fog frequencies in South Asia during winter over the last few decades has resulted in large economical losses and has caused difficulties in the daily lives of people. The total economic loss associated with the impact of fog occurrence can be comparable to that of tornadoes or, in some cases, winter storms and hurricanes. For example, there were over 200 flight diversions during January 2010 alone at the Delhi International Airport, causing a number of flight cancellations and delays.

In order to better understand the fog phenomenon in the context of South Asia, research was conducted on the climatology, inter-annual variability and trends in fog occurrence over the period 1976-2010, using observational data from 82 stations distributed across India and Pakistan. Fog blankets large areas across the region during high winters. Analysis suggests that fog variability over the whole region must be governed by some large scale phenomenon on the inter-annual time scale.

In this context, the Sustainable Developmetn Policy Institute invties you to attend a special seminar on the said subject. The seminar will highlight findings from the research conducted, particularly in the context of harmful impacts of fog variablitiy in the region.

The event can also be watched live at http://www.sdpi.tv/live.php

[image source: http://thefrogthatjumpedout.blogspot.com/2013/07/climate-change-perspective-canada-in.html]

Chair: Mr. Kashif M. Salik, Research Associate, SDPI

Speakers:
Dr. Faisal Saeed Syed, Assistant Professor, Department of Meteorology, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology