(Photo credit: Colin Crowley/Save the Children)
Despite emitting less than 1 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan’s recent floods have been linked, in part, to climate change, according to a recently published report by the World Weather Attribution Initiative.
Scientists have long warned about the disproportionate effects climate change would have on low-income communities, and this year’s record heat waves, floods, and drought bring truth to those predictions.
Pakistan’s floods, which cover 33 per cent of the country, have killed over 1,600 people, a third of them children. Close to 2 million homes have been destroyed, and 33 million people have been displaced. The hardest-hit provinces of Baluchistan and Sindh experienced over four times more rainfall than normal, and more is expected, though it may not be as heavy.
Humanitarian aid has been slow to circulate given the infrastructure damage caused by the catastrophe. The scale of the destruction is overwhelming humanitarian groups, who do not know where to begin. Diseases, including malaria, dengue fever, and diarrhoea, began spreading from the standing water. Officials estimate it will take 2–6 months for the waters to recede.
“It’s compounding existing acute problems like poverty in the country, food insecurity, and child safety issues,” says Zein Basravi of Al Jazeera, who spent time in Sindh Province to report on the damage. Pakistan’s monsoon season is from June to September, and the amount of rainfall has been three times higher than the average.
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, visited Pakistan in the aftermath of the floods, and stated, “I have never seen climate carnage on this scale… Pakistan is paying the price of something that was created by others.” The World Economic Forum released a study in April that put lower-income and lower-middle-income countries at the highest risk of GDP loss due to climate change.
The report, which put South Asia at the highest risk, describes, “Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka’s exposure to wildfires, floods, major storms, and also water shortages means South Asia has 10–18 per cent of GDP at risk, roughly treble that of North America and 10 times more than the least-affected region, Europe.”
Pakistan’s government estimates the damage from this year’s flooding at $30 billion, or 9 per cent of GDP.
Videos of luxury hotels and houses washing away in fast-moving high waters have circulated on social media to show the scale of the damage and how rapidly circumstances can change during a natural disaster.
Amnesty International has called on wealthy nations to assist with relief efforts in Pakistan and compensate the nation for loss and damage due to climate change, framing it as a human rights issue.
The IPCC reports that over 20 million people have been displaced annually by climate change and natural disasters, and that number is sure to grow. The World Bank estimates that 216 million people will be internally displaced by 2050, and the Institute for Economics and Peace estimates that 1.2 billion people could be displaced by the same year.
These stark estimates rely on different data and projection models but concur in their message: climate refugees are an inevitable part of the future. Calling on wealthy nations to do more to reduce emissions and keep global temperatures down may help avoid an uptick in crises that are mismanaged and spur civil unrest and displacement.
Thus far, the aid offered to Pakistan has been described as “a pittance,” as wealthier nations complain of having to deal with their pressing problems, including the war in Ukraine and subsequent energy crunch, and their own climate disasters.
After the UK’s initial contribution of £1.7 million was described as “laughable,” the government increased it tenfold.
Comparatively, the amount of military aid offered to Ukraine in weapons assistance by the UK amounts to £2.3 billion. The US sent $30 million to Pakistan through USAID at the end of August and deployed a disaster response team to the country. It has given upwards of $50 billion to Ukraine for the war effort.
It is challenging to consider long-term goals amid a crisis, yet, the climate crisis has come with so many constant alerts, the consequences of which were predicted fairly accurately long ago. This decade is the last chance to keep temperatures low enough to avoid a tipping point. Will wealthy nations step up for the climate with the same vigour they have stepped up for war?
Sarah Sakeena Marshall,
American University’s School of Intl Service, The Muslim News, Environmental Columnist
READ MORE
NGOs launch into action as a third of Pakistan is left submerged from deadliest floods
