BY: SANA NAVEED
The climate is changing, increasing hazards effects like extreme weather patterns, long-term shifts in temperatures and transformations to the physical environment. Climate change affects the economy and members of the society in many ways. Pakistan has been facing the effects of climate change for the past 2 decades as it is home to the world’s largest glaciers.
Pakistan has ranked among the top 10 most susceptible countries on the Climate Risk Index, even though Pakistan contributes only 0.5% of the world’s carbon footprint. Climate-related disasters like heat waves and floods pose a serious threat to Pakistan. From different scientific analyses it is confirmed that disasters are clearly driven by global warming.
Pakistan is in the midst of a dreadful heat wave, with the temperature exceeding 120 F in many areas of the country. April was recorded as the hottest month in the past 61 years in Pakistan. Around 65 people have died due to the heat wave in many parts of the country. Heat waves caused heavy monsoon rain in late June, which triggered the recent and disastrous floods in Pakistan.
The flood ravages started in Balochistan, Sindh, and South Punjab and then affected some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Sindh and Balochistan were hardest hit by floods during a five-day period of maximum rainfall. These areas received up to eight times more rain than usual, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. The 60-day period of intense rains swelled the Indus River by 75% and triggered widespread flash floods.
These floods are a major setback for the economy and livelihood of common people as well. According to many reported studies nearly 1500 people lost their lives, of whom more than 399 were children; over 13 million people have been affected and almost 1.7 million homes have been destroyed.
Pakistan Floods- August 27, 2022 in southern Pakistan Source: https://worldview.earthdata.nasa.gov/ Corrected Reflectance (Bands 7-2-1) Aqua / MODIS
Damages likely exceed preliminary estimates of around US$30 billion, with further economic disruption in the months to come as around 6700 kilometers of road, 269 bridges, 1460 health facilities, and 18590 schools were flooded. Approximately 750 thousand livestock were killed, and around 18,000 square kilometers of croplands were ruined, including roughly 45% of the cotton crop, one of the nation’s key exports.
The entire scenario makes it obvious that the occurrence of the flood was detectably influenced by climate change. However, human-related variables are the major contributors to climate change by increasing the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As the climate heats up, it will bring with it all kinds of risks, such as heat waves and floods. In other words, while warming may not induce extreme weather events directly, it intensifies many of the factors that do.
It is urgently needed to tackle the challenging impacts of climate change. For this purpose, both immediate and long-term actions should be adopted.
Sana Naveed M.Phill Scholar PMAS Arid Agriculture University