A third of Pakistan has been submerged by flooding triggered by historic monsoon rains.
Pakistan’s Federal Climate Change Minister, Sherry Rehman earlier this week noted that the crisis of unimaginable proportions has left a trail of destruction.
At least 33 million people, which is roughly 14 per cent of Pakistan’s population is affected resulting in death, devastation, relocation, and loss that will be felt for months and years to come.
“To see the devastation on the ground is really mind-boggling,” Rehman told an international TV station.
Over a thousand people have been killed with southern Sindh province having lost nearly half of its cotton crop.
The United Nations launched a $160 million (Sh19.2 billion) joint appeal with Pakistan’s government.
“The Pakistani people are experiencing a monsoon on steroids; the persistent impact of epochal amounts of rain and flooding,” said United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, who is set to visit the nation on Friday. He called the flooding a ‘climate disaster’.
Flooding is caused by a variety of variables, but a warm atmosphere induced by climate change increases the likelihood of heavy rainfall.
The world has already warmed up by about 1.2°C since the beginning of the industrial era, and temperatures will continue to rise unless governments around the world drastically reduce emissions.
According to Pakistan’s planning minister, the floods have inflicted at least $10 billion (Sh1.2 trillion) in damage, and many people are facing severe food shortages. The country was already in the grip of an economic catastrophe.
This year’s monsoon has destroyed wide swaths of rich agricultural land, threatening food supply and driving prices skyrocketing.