Dear friends,
Here is an article for the newsletter on the devastating floods in Pakistan.
kind regards from IslamabadZeba.
A weird weather pattern was experienced in Pakistan in March 2022. There was no spring. Annual rose and jasmine flower shows were not held. After an intense winter, temperatures began to rise and by April in many parts of the country full-fledged summer had already set in. Weather pundits and the Met department began to predict heavy rainfall and flooding and warnings of GLOF (glacial lake outburst flooding) were being issued by the Climate Ministry. However, this came in the midst of government change, inflation and political rallies, and the poor and vulnerable population groups living in fragile and remote settings were a forgotten lot.
Heavy rainfall became an everyday phenomenon in the South of the country. Karachi, the commercial hub was badly affected, deaths occurred, roads were damaged and scarce government resources were mobilized to address consequences of climate change.
Pakistans’ North is known for its abundant natural beauty. Mountains and glaciers here have provided comfort to the eyes and souls of many. This region is known for having the highest number of glaciers in the world. Melting of these beautiful glaciers is clearly the result of global warming and of heavy carbon emissions from many parts of the world. Within the country, tree plantation campaigns were accelerated only a few years ago, deforestation continued to take place, dams were not built, population control measures failed, health and education services did not reach every nook and corner and the divide between the haves and have-nots grew with time.
Massive fury of Mother Nature began to be witnessed in the form of rain and floods which quickly spread to several parts of the country. Rainfall was recorded to be 190 percent more than normal. About 1/3 of the total land is currently under water and in many areas even road access is not possible. A friend took 13 hours to travel 100 kms in Sindh yesterday and when all efforts to reach her destination failed, she returned to her starting point. According to her there is nothing to eat on the highway.
Over 33 million people have been affected by the floods of 2022. Thousands and thousands are living in polluted waters. As of today, 35 % of the total reported deaths (1300) are of children, 5735 roads are damaged and 246 bridges are destroyed. Significant loss of livestock has occurred. Landslides have blocked many highways. Many parts of rural Sindh and Balochistan are under water and remain inaccessible except by helicopter. About a million homes have been destroyed or damaged. Railway tracks are broken and air traffic is disrupted. Sadly and as always, millions of children are not going to school any longer. Water borne diseases are now affecting the already poor, sick and vulnerable people. Life has changed for many.
Pictorial views
Here is an article for the newsletter on the devastating floods in Pakistan.
kind regards from IslamabadZeba.
A weird weather pattern was experienced in Pakistan in March 2022. There was no spring. Annual rose and jasmine flower shows were not held. After an intense winter, temperatures began to rise and by April in many parts of the country full-fledged summer had already set in. Weather pundits and the Met department began to predict heavy rainfall and flooding and warnings of GLOF (glacial lake outburst flooding) were being issued by the Climate Ministry. However, this came in the midst of government change, inflation and political rallies, and the poor and vulnerable population groups living in fragile and remote settings were a forgotten lot.
Heavy rainfall became an everyday phenomenon in the South of the country. Karachi, the commercial hub was badly affected, deaths occurred, roads were damaged and scarce government resources were mobilized to address consequences of climate change.
Pakistans’ North is known for its abundant natural beauty. Mountains and glaciers here have provided comfort to the eyes and souls of many. This region is known for having the highest number of glaciers in the world. Melting of these beautiful glaciers is clearly the result of global warming and of heavy carbon emissions from many parts of the world. Within the country, tree plantation campaigns were accelerated only a few years ago, deforestation continued to take place, dams were not built, population control measures failed, health and education services did not reach every nook and corner and the divide between the haves and have-nots grew with time.
Massive fury of Mother Nature began to be witnessed in the form of rain and floods which quickly spread to several parts of the country. Rainfall was recorded to be 190 percent more than normal. About 1/3 of the total land is currently under water and in many areas even road access is not possible. A friend took 13 hours to travel 100 kms in Sindh yesterday and when all efforts to reach her destination failed, she returned to her starting point. According to her there is nothing to eat on the highway.
Over 33 million people have been affected by the floods of 2022. Thousands and thousands are living in polluted waters. As of today, 35 % of the total reported deaths (1300) are of children, 5735 roads are damaged and 246 bridges are destroyed. Significant loss of livestock has occurred. Landslides have blocked many highways. Many parts of rural Sindh and Balochistan are under water and remain inaccessible except by helicopter. About a million homes have been destroyed or damaged. Railway tracks are broken and air traffic is disrupted. Sadly and as always, millions of children are not going to school any longer. Water borne diseases are now affecting the already poor, sick and vulnerable people. Life has changed for many.
Pictorial views
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| A man carries his son as he wades through floodwaters in Charsadda in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. [Mohammad Sajjad/AP Photo] |
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Children and women are the most vulnerable (taken by ?) |
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| A man tries to salvage what he can from his flood-hit home in Shikarpur district, Sindh province, on Aug. 30. (Fareed Khan/AP) |
Terrible to see this Zeba as I know the area well...poor to begin with and now this tragedy imposed by global climate apocalypse.Huge respect to you for your untiring efforts to help In solidarity Steve w
ReplyDeleteDear Zeba,
ReplyDeleteSad to learn Pakistan where I worked with you and lived with my family was devastated by the massive flood. Thank you so much for sharing the information.
Pakistan’s contribution to the world’s earth warming is only one percent, I guess. It is not fair one third of the population has been suffering so much.
Your help is very much appreciated. Regards. Kunio Waki
Dear Zeba,
ReplyDeleteIt is infinitely sad to see this happening to your country. The place where I have experienced so much hospitality during my stint as DepRep, but also a place where emergencies were frequent and sometimes very big.
This time however, this massive flooding, that we follow daily on the news is of an unprecedented magnitude. We all expect the international community to step up and I sincerely hope that also this time UNICEF will deliver.
All the best,
Ronald van Dijk
Heart breaking! For the poor it always go from bad to worse. Even nature have no compassion and sympathy. So 😔
ReplyDelete