Pakistan is among the countries most affected by climate change and is the fifth most vulnerable country to its devastating impacts. Moreover, northern areas, including KP (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) and GB (Gilgit-Baltistan), as well as Balochistan, are at higher risk of climate change-related hazards due to their geography.
According to timely estimates by the National Emergency Operation Center (NEOC), cities in Punjab like Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, and Gujranwala frequently experience urban flooding. KP areas, such as Peshawar, Swat, Abbottabad, Dir, Mansehra, and Kohistan, face flooding and landslides. However, Sindh is also affected.
Upper Sindh, including Sukkur, Larkana, Karachi, Hyderabad, and Thatta, may experience heavy rains and flooding. Balochistan, particularly the northeastern and eastern parts like the hilly streams of Dera Ghazi Khan, is prone to sudden floods. Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) suffers from landslides and blockages due to heavy rains, while Kashmir, including Muzaffarabad, faces landslides, intense flooding, and infrastructure damage.
Experts from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) have emphasized that excessive rainfall can submerge fields, damaging crops, especially water-sensitive ones like wheat and cotton. Heavy rains can also wash away the topsoil, reduce soil fertility, and negatively impact future crop yields.
“Irregular rainfall patterns can disrupt the agricultural calendar, delay planting and harvesting times, which can reduce crop quality and yield. Increased moisture and standing water create favorable conditions for pests and diseases, further damaging crops. Moreover, persistent heavy rains can lead to waterlogging, harm crop root systems, and cause poor plant health and lower productivity.
Flooded roads and infrastructure can delay the transportation of agricultural goods, leading to post-harvest losses. The monsoon season in South Asia is primarily driven by the temperature differential between land and sea. During summer, land heats up faster than the sea, creating low-pressure zones that draw moist air from the Indian Ocean, resulting in heavy rainfall. Over the past two decades, climate change has intensified the monsoon, leading to more erratic and extreme rainfall patterns, alongside increasing occurrences of both severe droughts and floods. Deforestation and urbanization have also disrupted natural drainage systems, exacerbating the intensity and impact of monsoon rains.
Rising global temperatures due to climate change have accelerated the water cycle, resulting in more intense and unpredictable rainfall. Rapid urban development disrupts natural drainage systems, leading to increased runoff and flooding, while deforestation reduces the land’s ability to absorb rainfall, increasing surface runoff and soil erosion. Warmer sea temperatures increase evaporation rates, leading to more moisture-laden air and heavy rains.
Changes in global wind patterns and environmental pressure systems can alter the timing, intensity, and distribution of monsoon rains. Together, these factors have contributed to more frequent and severe monsoon-related events in the region. Variability in rainfall and weather patterns in South Asia is a historical and increasingly rapid phenomenon. Monsoon variability has always been a feature of the region’s climate, influenced by natural factors such as El Niño and La Niña events, the Indian Ocean Dipole, and other oceanic and environmental influences.
In recent years, the severity and unpredictability of these variations have increased, largely due to human-induced climate change. Rising global temperatures, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and environmental degradation have led to more frequent and intense extreme weather events, with changes occurring more rapidly compared to historical patterns. To address these exceptional changes in weather patterns, there is an urgent need to enhance early warning systems for more accurate and timely predictions of monsoon rains.
So far, the government has done little beyond delaying repairs for damages caused by recent floods, providing housing to victims, and addressing agricultural losses and drainage system improvements. Some installments and houses for victims have been provided, but reports suggest that several victims’ names were not included in the list of affected individuals. Many victims faced difficulties at banks and had to wait for hours in severe heat to receive their first installment a year later.
For those whose homes were destroyed and livestock perished in the recent floods, the government conducted a complete survey, which cannot be criticized, but its supportive policies have been part of this survey. Some landlords were rewarded, but installments for rebuilding the homes of genuine victims are not being provided.
In other words, two years have passed since the devastating floods, but the government has been unable to provide even a two-room shelter to the victims. In areas like UC Sukkur in District Thatta, many homes that were destroyed by the rains have still not been rebuilt. Regarding agriculture, last year also saw a major setback, with many questions arising from the survey of damages. After the damage survey, only a few individuals may have received payments, while a large number of farmers have not received any immediate assistance.
When considering the costs of fertilizers, seeds, tractors, and expensive medicines, no crop is ready without these inputs. This year, the rice crop was completely destroyed by the torrential rains. Last year, the provincial government announced a meager 5000 per acre and then withdrew, leaving farmers in despair. Karachi, the heart of Sindh, and all districts of Sindh face extremely poor conditions, particularly regarding drainage. Even a five-minute rainfall turns the city into a river, with the most frequented areas, such as intersections, submerged in water.
In such conditions, shopkeepers bear the brunt and endure a distressing and painful existence. While the water remains in these areas, residents and businesses are severely affected. Some people in these areas live in rented spaces. Shop owners whose businesses are closed due to rainwater are troubled, but the labor class’s homes are without cooking facilities these days. In some regions of Sindh, MNAs and MPAs are making efforts to visit their constituencies and avoid ruining their expensive shoes in standing rainwater. This time, the Chief Minister of Sindh and party leadership are seen in various places, making statements that elected representatives share equally in the public’s suffering.