Just when economic and political crises had tightened their grip around Pakistan, climate change too had its own plan for the nation. For the past 4 months straight, the country has been swamped with severe floods and loss of life as well as property. Presently, one-third of Pakistan is submerged in floods and the conditions only seem to be worsening.
The catastrophe has affected over 33 million people which is about 15% of the country’s total population. The torrential rainfall that began in June, has claimed the lives of an estimated 136 people till now with over 100 being killed in a day. The floods have washed off huge structures, roads, crops, homes and bridges across the country. This has led to the destruction of over 1 million homes and estimated damage of about $10 billion.
The destruction has been so widespread that it has become challenging to send aid such as food and medication to the flood-hit regions. The United Nations’ World Food Program noted that “More than 100 bridges and some 3,000 km of roads have been damaged or destroyed, nearly 800,000 farm animals have perished, and two million acres of crops and orchards have been hit.”
The floods have also given rise to a number of health concerns. People are rushing to the clinics and doctors to get themselves treated. Skin diseases have become a common ailment due to the constant exposure to mud, debris and dirty sewage water. These are becoming the major cause of malaria, cholera, dengue fever, polio, COVID-19 and skin diseases such as scabies.
Further, only a few are having access to medical assistance due to the widespread damage the floods have caused to health care services as well in the country.
The province of Sindh and Balochistan are the most affected parts of the country. The citizens of Pakistan are blaming the present and the previous government for such a bad state that the country has come to. The country is rattling with political conflict with leaders busy fighting for power, ignoring the welfare of the country’s people altogether, the citizens complained.
After Imran Khan, who created quite a constitutional upheaval in the country, the opposition leader, Shehbaz Sharif is now the prime minister of Pakistan. The people of the country aren’t happy even with their new leader.
To help the country overcome this devastation, PM Shehbaz Sharif announced a grant of 10bn rupees ($45m) for the most affected victims in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. He has directed officials to provide every flood-affected family with 25,000 rupees ($112). Mr Sharif has ordered this amount to be disbursed within a week.
In addition to this, a huge amount of funding allotted to development projects in the country has been rerouted to the affected people. This, however, isn’t going to be enough, to pull the nation out of its drowning state. The country had been crying out for international support.
The United Nations and the Government of Pakistan issued an appeal for $160 million in emergency funding. This funding is going to be utilized to provide food, water, sanitation, health and other forms of aid to some 5.2 million people. The IMF or International Monetary Fund has approved financial aid of $1.17 billion for Pakistan.
Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi extended his condolences to those who lost their dear ones in the floods.
Pakistan had evoked a trade ban in 2019 as a reaction to revoking Article 370 granting special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Regardless of the ban, Pakistan is now considering importing food items like onions and tomatoes from India.
Further, the U.S. government has promised to offer $30 million in assistance to help the victims. Canada has agreed to allocate USD 20,000 for the flood-relief operations. Other nations like UAE, and Turkey are also providing relief packages to the flood-stricken victims of the country.
Although this is not the first time that Pakistan has witnessed severe floods, the current catastrophe is the worst the country has ever witnessed. This, many experts believe, is the ill effect of climate change.
Earlier in the year, during the month of May, the country had also faced blazing heat waves. The temperature during this time had shot up to 50° C during the months of March and April. This was also due to climate change. Climate change experts point out that it’s because of the severe heatwave that Pakistan is witnessing horrific floods. The reason for this is that a warmer atmosphere is capable of holding more moisture which is then eventually unleashed in the form of heavy rains.
This might come as a surprise to many. Pakistan contributes less than 1 per cent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions. Yet it is the one to suffer the most when compared to other countries like the US, China and the EU.
The reason for this is deep-rooted mistakes that the country has made in terms of policy formulation and implementation, improper utilization of funds, structural inequalities, emphasis on grand-scale infrastructure projects, corruption, and many other evils plaguing the country. This has left the country underprepared to deal with unforeseen calamities like the one it’s witnessing right now.
Pakistan has been witnessing its highest rainfall in at least three decades. The flood conditions are said to be only worsening as two more weeks of the monsoon season are left to pass.
