At least 77 perished in monsoon rains: Sherry Rehman

Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman on Wednesday said that the current spell of monsoon rains has claimed 77 lives, 37 of which have been in Balochistan, making the province the most affected region of the country.

Calling the deaths a “national tragedy”, the minister said it was “no small figure” and called on the nation to take matters “seriously”.

The country is currently experiencing monsoon and pre-monsoon rains, however, the minister said that the severity of the spells has been unusual. She added that “this is happening because of climate change and global warming”.Rehman added that dams were under stress as the country has received 87 per cent more rain than expected. She elaborated that Azad Kashmir received 49 per cent additional rainfall for the month, Balochistan received 274 per cent of the monthly average and Sindh received 262 per cent more rainfall since the first monsoon spell began on June 28.

She further informed the media that this year, there had been 16 incidents of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF), when the annual average is five instances of GLOF and added that heatwaves this year had caused devastating forest fires.

“Pakistan is the sixth-most affected country in the world.”

The minister added that while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed the government to pay special attention to climate change, “the country needs long-term planning”.
Federal Minister for Climate Change Senator Sherry Rehman is addressing a press conference at PID on July 06, 2022. PHOTO: APP

If provinces require assistance from the federal government during the monsoon season, she said, then they will have to “carry out assessments of the aid they require”.

Rehman further said provinces posting advisories and “taking institutional warnings seriously can reduce deaths”.

“Karachi did not see the number of storms as it was expected to,” said the minister while referring to the port city.

Earlier in June, the minister had directed the concerned departments to take all necessary preemptive precautionary measures and to pursue a coordinated strategy to cope with the possible disastrous impact of monsoon rains.