The United Nations secretary general has warned that Pakistan is in for “a monsoon on steroids” after recent floods had swamped one-third of the nation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a $160 million appeal to assist the tens of millions of people in Pakistan who have been impacted by the calamity.
The “unrelenting effect of epochal quantities of rain and floods,” he said, was to blame.
Roads, farms, houses, and bridges have been swept away throughout the nation, and at least 1,136 people have died, since June.
Similar to the worst floods in Pakistan’s history, which killed over 2,000 people in 2010, this year’s monsoon set a new record.
Mr. Guterres described South Asia as a “climate catastrophe hotspot” in a video message, claiming that people there face a 15-fold increased risk of death due to climate change.
Let’s wake up and realize that if we continue doing nothing, climate change will destroy our world. Now we turn our attention to Pakistan. It might be your nation tomorrow.
The UN appeal, he said, was meant to help 5.2 million people in need of food, water, sanitation, emergency education, and medical care.
Authorities in Pakistan believe that more than 33 million people, or one in seven, have been impacted by the floods.
Sadia, a student in Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan, described her helplessness as her family was shut off in their native hamlet of JhalMagsi, located around eight hours away.
“You can’t locate a single property that is secure anymore,” she said on the BBC’s Outside Source show. They’re stuck on the ground with little hope of rescue.
First aid supplies, such as tents, shelter, and food (as they have no way to prepare meals), are urgently required at this time. In addition, they need potable water.
Sherry Rehman, minister for climate change in Pakistan, called the current crisis a “epic climate-induced humanitarian disaster” on Monday.
Pakistan routinely ranks among the top 10 nations most susceptible to the consequences of climate change, although contributing less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
There are many causes of floods, but one way in which climate change contributes is by increasing the likelihood of very heavy rainfall.
Since the start of the industrial period, the planet has warmed by around 1.2C, and unless governments take drastic measures to reduce emissions, this trend will continue.
The floods have caused at least $10bn (£8.5bn) in damage, according to estimates provided by Pakistan’s minister of planning, and many people are facing significant food shortages. The economic situation in the nation was already dire.
Huge swaths of productive farmland were wiped off by the monsoons this year, which has caused food shortages and skyrocketing costs.
Zahida Bibi, a shopper in a Lahore market, told the AFP news agency, “Things are so costly because of this flood that we can’t purchase anything.”
Provinces like Sindh and Balochistan have been impacted the worst by the flooding, but Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s hilly areas have also been devastated.
Thousands of people have been told to leave their isolated villages in the northern Swat Valley because of the collapse of bridges and roads, but rescuers have had trouble getting there despite the use of helicopters.
There have been widespread destructions of communities. According to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, “millions of dwellings have been devastated” after he surveyed the damage from a helicopter on Sunday.
With Pakistan’s own call for aid out into the world, donations have begun to trickle in. Tents and medication have been sent by the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, while the United States and Britain have committed their help.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced Monday morning that it will lend the country $1.2 billion.
