Daily Times

We, as a nation, have not recovered from the events of 2020 when the pandemic and the lockdown reshaped our lives. Nearly every citizen of Pakistan knew of someone from his/her circle of friends or family who lost their life because of Covid-19. The year 2021 was not as damaging as 2020, but the few months of rainfall have, indeed, raised havoc. The monsoon season of 2022 and the incessant rainfall from July to August have again brought the nation to the brink of disaster. Parts of Sindh, Punjab, and Baluchistan are in the red zone where the flood water has created chaos.

Pictures and video footage taken by residents in Sindh and Baluchistan present a bleak scenario. Villages have been washed away as millions were forced to migrate to other areas for safety. According to data released by the National Disaster Management Authority, Government of Pakistan, over 900 people have lost their lives, and more than 1,300 have been injured. It also shared that nearly 3,100 kilometres of roads have been destroyed, including 145 bridges and 581,207 houses. The number of livestock that died is 793,995. News reports claim that more than half of the causalities are from Sindh and Balochistan.

The 2022 monsoon season has brought to the fore a dark reality upon us. The concepts of global warming, climate change, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels that remained a hot topic for debate have now emerged as a daunting reality. Countries are facing flash floods and this trend will only intensify with increased intensity with each passing year. The people of Pakistan, especially Karachi, remember the destruction caused by monsoon rains in 2020 and 2021. The climate is changing and sadly, we are not prepared.

The concepts of global warming, climate change, melting ice caps, and rising sea levels that remained a hot topic for debate have now emerged as a daunting reality.

If the rain continues to persistently pour in Pakistan, there is no telling what would become of the people trapped all around. In the meantime, located thousands of miles away, people in Europe are experiencing a heatwave, the intensity of which they have never faced before. They have never seen the temperature rise beyond 40 degrees Celsius. Similarly, a natural anomaly is being experienced in China as it faced seventy days of heatwaves, flash floods, and droughts. Scientists claim that these natural occurrences will become more frequent because of climate change. The Sichuan region in southwest China faced heavy rains that caused more than 30,000 people to evacuate.

The situation in Pakistan is no different. The flashfloods will pass but the families who lost their loved ones will never get back on their feet. The bridges and roads that have been destroyed will take months before they are either renovated or people find alternate routes for travelling. A bridge built in the 1880s by the British in Baluchistan’s Bolan district has also collapsed. On August 26, nearly 95,000 cusecs of flood water were flowing under the Khayali Bridge in Charsadda – an event never heard of before.

Climate change should be addressed not only by Pakistan but all countries, especially in the coastal areas and the areas near the mountain base. It is high time we stop letting speculation get in the way of actual planning. Climate change is no longer just boring talk of doom and gloom. It is as real as it can be. It is here. It is to stay.

The writer is an independent researcher, author and columnist