Sherry Rehman, Pakistan’s Federal Minister for Climate Change, tweeted updated data from the country’s National Disaster Management Authority that said 33 million people — almost 15% of Pakistan’s population — had been affected and 1,041 had been killed in the floods until August 27.

The Pakistani daily Dawn reported on Sunday (August 28) morning that “more than half of Pakistan is under water and millions of people have been rendered homeless” by the floods caused by the abnormal monsoon rain that has entered its “eighth spell with no signs of subsiding”.

To shorten response times, it was advised that all concerned ministries and departments, municipal and city administrations, and others, maintain a high alert level and monitor the evolving situation. All civic organizations and rescue services, such as Rescue 1122, the Fire Brigade, Ambulance, and Civil Defense, have also been advised by the department to remain on high alert and ensure that personnel and equipment are available in high-risk areas during the predicted period.

The advisory mentioned, “Timely evacuation of at-risk population from low-lying / flood prone areas as per Evacuation Plans and ensure availability of shelters, food, and medicines in those shelter camps.”

Pakistan’s Minister for Climate Change Sherry Rehman said, “Pakistan is going through its 8th cycle of monsoon; normally the country has only three to four cycles of rain. Pakistan is under an unprecedented monsoon spell and data suggests the possibility of re-emergence of another cycle in September.”

Rehman claimed that the current state of Pakistan is worse than the floods of 2010. She claimed that in several parts of the nation, bridges and communication infrastructure has been destroyed by flash floods brought about by severe rainfall.

How bad is the monsoon rainfall this year?

Pakistan struggles during the June-August monsoon season every year, but 2022 has been especially bad. The rainfall usually begins only in July, but this year, it started raining heavily in June itself, triggering floods. Almost 300 people had been killed between late June and mid-July.

The normal rainfall in Pakistan for the three-month July 1 to September 30 period is 140.9 mm, according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). Last year (2021), Pakistan was in 11.3% deficit of this figure, having received 125 mm of rain.

This year, the country received as much as 354.3 mm of rain between July 1 and August 26, the PMD said. This was 211% more than the normal of 113.7 mm during this period.

PMD data for the period August 1-26 showed Pakistan as a whole received 176.8 mm of rain, a deviation of 251% from the normal of 50.4 mm for this period.

The southern region of Sindh has been the worst affected in August, having received 442.5 mm of rain this month until the 26th, which is 784% more than the 50 mm normal for the period August 1-26, according to the PMD. Balochistan is the other badly-hit region, which has got 129.7 mm of rain from August 1-26, a deviation of 522% from the normal 20.9 mm in the region for this period.

Even Gilgit Baltistan, which receives a meagre 12.4 mm of rain, has received 40.1 mm during August 1-26, a deviation of 225%.

“Our cities not designed for such torrential downpours without a break,” Rehman tweeted. She also tweeted a video of floodwaters washing over the Madyan bridge in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which she said was built 5 metres above the level of the bridge that went down in the 2010 superflood.

Rehman said Pakistan is passing through a “climate catastrophe”. She said: “Pakistan is living through a serious climate catastrophe, one of the hardest in the decade. We are at the moment at ground zero, the frontline, of an extreme weather event, in an unrelenting cascade of heatwaves, forest fires, flash floods, multiple glacial lake outbursts, flood events, and now the monster monsoon of the decade is wreaking non-stop havoc throughout the country.”

Pakistan has consistently ranked among the countries that are among the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which tracks the human and economic toll that large extreme weather events take.

Pakistan is estimated to have lost almost 10,000 lives and losses of $4 billion as a result of climate-related disasters between 1998 and 2018. 

References:

indianexpress.com