Floods in Pakistan. For the United Nations it is a climate carnage
Environment — di Andrea Barolini
Pakistan is still underwater, with 1.6 million homes destroyed. The United Nations places the blame on climate change.
Floods in Pakistan. For the United Nations it is a climate carnage
Pakistan is still underwater, with 1.6 million homes destroyed. The United Nations places the blame on climate change.
A third of Pakistan's territory is still submerged by floods: an area as large as the United Kingdom. Following the torrential rains that have battered the Asian nation, the toll is catastrophic. Not only in terms of human lives – with around 1,500 confirmed deaths – but also in terms of the destruction of infrastructure, local economies and livelihoods.
I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan.
As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt.
This is a global crisis. It demands a global response.
As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt.
This is a global crisis. It demands a global response.
Millions of refugees. The agricultural system at risk
Across vast areas of the country, homes are still struggling to emerge from the immense lakes formed by the rainfall. Consider that two reservoirs 160 kilometres apart have now merged into a single body of water, which has swallowed numerous villages. The total number of buildings confirmed as destroyed stands at 1.6 million. Tens of thousands of people are still fleeing and millions of residents are forced to sleep in tents. As they await the cold season.
And the situation risks deteriorating further, as the Sukkur barrage on the Indus River, which holds the country's largest freshwater reserve, is at risk of giving way. Were it to collapse, the threat would not be limited to an immediate danger for those living in the surrounding areas, but would represent a problem that could literally bring what remains of Pakistan's economy to its knees. The dam supplies water to almost the entire agricultural system of the country: the water is distributed through nearly 10,000 kilometres of canals.
António Guterres: "Stop this madness"
This is, in short, a situation that shows no sign of improving, following the worst floods in Pakistan's history, directly linked to global warming, which is only increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. "I have never seen such a climate carnage of this scale," commented United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, during a visit to the Asian country. "Stop this madness," he added.
I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan.
As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt.
This is a global crisis. It demands a global response.
As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt.
This is a global crisis. It demands a global response.
"I simply," the Portuguese diplomat wrote in a tweet, "have no words to describe what I saw today. Pakistan and other developing nations are paying a terrible price for the intransigence of those who continue to emit greenhouse gases, of those who continue to bet on fossil fuels. This is a global crisis and it demands a global response."
In Pakistan, previously: mega-fires and 50 degrees in the shade
According to the Pakistani meteorological agency, in 2022 rainfall has already been five times higher than the annual average. And during the hottest days, temperatures in the same areas exceeded 50 degrees Celsius, with widespread fires breaking out in forests and flash floods caused by the rapid melting of glaciers.
To deliver the necessary aid and repair or rebuild the country's vital infrastructure, it has been estimated that at least 10 billion dollars will be needed. To this end, calls are multiplying for extraordinary assistance to be granted by the international community.