Recent devastating flash floods in Pakistan destroyed civilisation in massive numbers and caused quite a stir worldwide. Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s Minister of Climate Change, told BBC News that one third of the country is under water.
While the immediate cause of these floods appear to be the record-breaking monsoon rains, it’s evident that climate change is the causal factor behind intense monsoons.
The rapid glacial melting, a consequence of planet warming, in the north of Pakistan has fueled the situation.
These devastating floods in Pakistan should be a “wake-up” call to the world on the threat of climate change. UN General Secretary António Guterres said, “As we continue to see more and more extreme weather events around the world, it is outrageous that climate action is being put on the back burner as global emissions of greenhouse gases are still rising, putting all of us – everywhere – in growing danger.”
Impact of Climate Change on Pakistan:
Pakistan has been bearing the consequences of global warming prior to every other country due to its strategic location. It is positioned on the globe such that it gets hit by two major weather systems. One brings heavy monsoon rains, and another causes intensely high temperatures, drought, and heatwaves.
To top it all off, Pakistan has the most glacial ice outside of arctic poles than anywhere else. All this glacial ice does not bode well with the rising temperatures in the region, as it puts Pakistan constantly at a risk glacier lake outpouring flood (GLOF).
This is not a favourable situation for the state since most of Pakistan’s population lives along the Indus River, and has occupied agriculture as their primary occupation, and the accelerated glacier melt, rising temperatures, shifting seasons, and irregular rainfall patterns are all affecting the flow of Indus River, which will have an impact on agriculture and food production.
Henceforth, Pakistan unquestionably gets the worst of the global climatic changes despite contributing negligible amounts to it.
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js“Many shift the burden to poor planning,& I would never say we r anywhere close to optimal climate governance,”says Rehman. “But is that really the reason for warming,or flooding? Of course not. Our emissions don’t account for 1 per cent of global warming” https://t.co/ZEUgl3YOFF
— SenatorSherryRehman (@sherryrehman) September 4, 2022
