Key takeaways
- Karachi reached about 47°C in June 2024; the official death toll was 427.
- Karachi has about 4.17 m² of green space per person against the WHO's 9 m².
- Pocket parks cooled air by 0.6–1.2°C and surfaces by about 4°C in Chinese studies.
- About 650 of Karachi's roughly 1,800 parks are encroached.
- Use neglected plots, native species, transit links and community stewardship.
In this Minute Mirror column (September 2025), Dr. Ghulam Mohey-ud-din makes the case for pocket parks: small green spaces that can bring measurable relief to Pakistan’s overheating cities at low cost.
The argument
Heat is now a public-health emergency. Karachi reached about 47°C in June 2024, with an official death toll of 427. The column notes estimates that Karachi has lost around 80 percent of its green cover since 2000 and now has about 4.17 square metres of green space per person, against the WHO’s recommended 9. Lahore’s built-up area expanded from 438 to 759 square kilometres between 2000 and 2024 while farmland around it shrank, and its canopy cover is about 3.3 percent. Heat concentrates in poorer neighbourhoods, and Karachi meteorologists observe gaps of about 2°C between leafy and industrial areas.
Evidence from China shows what small spaces can do. Simulations in Xi’an found pocket parks cutting summer air temperatures by 0.6 to 1.1°C; research in Shanghai found a 1.2°C air-temperature drop and surfaces about 4°C cooler than surrounding streets. Pocket parks also improve air quality, biodiversity, mental health and community life, and they need little land, money or time compared with megaprojects.
The opportunity is large. Karachi Metropolitan Corporation data show about 650 of the city’s roughly 1,800 parks encroached, while environmental groups have identified around 10,000 unused sites that could be greened.
What needs to change
- Convert traffic islands, dead-end lanes and idle government plots, starting with the greenest-deprived areas.
- Plant native, drought-tolerant species, avoiding failures such as Conocarpus.
- Connect parks to bus stops, cycle lanes and footpaths.
- Involve residents in design and upkeep, and measure temperature, biodiversity and use.
- Link pocket parks into a wider green network of parks, urban forests and canals.