In a recent video message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said, "Pakistani people are facing a monsoon on steroids—the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding." And during a field visit in Pakistan, he further emphasizes the urgency of developed countries providing financial support to Pakistan, the need to reflect on the global treatment of nature, and accept the reality of limited resources.
According to the National Centers for Environmental Information, heavy monsoon rains have led to a third of Pakistan's population drowning in flood water (www.ncei.noaa.gov). Pakistan ranked 27th from the top among CO2 emitters in 2018, contributing 0.6% of global CO2 emissions. With a population of over 10 million, Lahore is currently one of the most polluted cities in the world, and in 2021, Pakistan was ranked as the third most polluted nation overall, supported by data provided by the World Bank.
Damage is estimated to be in the $30 billion range.Approximately 1,100 people have died, and approximately 1,600 have been injured.735,000 livestock lost, 2 million acres of crops affected. 325,000 houses destroyed, 733,000 houses damaged according to United Nations Pakistan (Team, 2022). It's vital to stress that this is merely a rough estimate of the actual figures and a small portion of the ongoing catastrophe.
This event has not only taken the country by storm, but it has also served as a global reminder of the very real effects of climate change. This article examines the various ways in which Pakistan has been impacted: dying and displaced people, destroyed infrastructure, compromised health due to water-borne diseases, treatment and resource accessibility for women, compromised UNESCO sites, psychological trauma inflicted, migration and refugee crisis, and ongoing disasters caused by climate change. This is responsible due to only a 1.5 degree Celsius increase in temperature, it’s safe to say such crises will continue to occur if climate change is not addressed dramatically (NASA, 2022).
The Impact On:
Infrastructure, Agriculture, and Livestock
Abdullah Fadil, UNICEF's Representative in Pakistan, stated that "18,000 schools have been destroyed, and thousands of schools are now completely closed." As a result, children who have been out of school for two years are now losing learning opportunities "(United Nations News, 2022). With one-third of the country underwater, massive amounts of infrastructure have been destroyed.Homes, schools, businesses, and buildings have all been targets. Infrastructural destruction has created homelessness and migration to neighboring areas; a detrimental halt to school-based learning and progress; and a lack of structural facilities and stability in the impacted areas.Additionally, the Sindh Province alone has suffered damage to 1.2 million hectares of agricultural land, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (United Nations News, 2022). This means that the toxicity of flood waters can attract illness, which damages animals, agricultural land, and crops, resulting in food insecurity. Shelter, food, and clean drinking water are among the essentials needed after floods in impacted areas.
Women and Children
When considering aid in flood relief locations, marginalized communities like women are among the ones that are most frequently overlooked. Natalia Kanem, the head of the UN agency for reproductive health (UNFPA), emphasizes that 650,000 of the 33 million people affected are pregnant mothers in Pakistan (United Nations News, 2022). Women receive inadequate hygiene resources to attend to natural processes like menstruation and childbirth on top of destroyed healthcare infrastructure.Children who are still able to go to school are doing so in an environment that is psychologically traumatizing. "Affected people have told our staff on the ground about their traumatic and scary experiences as rain and flood waters swept away their possessions in minutes," said Matthew Saltmarsh, spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency.
Waterborne Diseases
Life-threatening ailments and diseases, such as cerebral malaria, for which there is no treatment, have now spread among displaced communities as had been anticipated. Diarrhea, malaria, cholera, drowning, and malnutrition, especially for pregnant women and children, serve as a threat to the livelihood of communities in Pakistan (UN News, 2022).
The UN Aid and Assistance
The UN agency has organized logistics in order to provide more than 1.2 million assistance supplies to local authorities in the most flood-affected areas. It has currently given officials more than a million life-saving supplies to distribute.USA for The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has developed a resource on their website to gather donations for flood-impacted areas in Pakistan for immediate support.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has set up 71 mobile health camps and temporary schools for children in the flood-affected areas. But the $39 million appeal is still less than a third funded, UNICEF added. That sum is part of the U.N.'s flash appeal for $160 million to support Pakistan's flood response (abcnews.go.com).
The UN's Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF), which announced a $7 million allocation, will help with the response to Pakistan's disastrous monsoon floods, which are the worst in more than ten years (UN News, 2022).
References:
ABC News Network. (n.d.). ABC News.https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/seek-160-million-emergency-aid-pakistan-floods-89036072 Aguilar, R. A. C., Corral, P., Baah, S. K. T., & Blankespoor, B. (2022, September 14). World Bank Open Data. Data. https://data.worldbank.org/
NASA. (2020, October 12). A degree of concern: Why global temperatures matter – climate change: Vital signs of the planet. NASA. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/2865/a-degree-of-concern-why-global-temperatures-matter/
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. (n.d.). August 2022 global climate report. August 2022 Global Climate Report | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/global/202208
Pakistan's Growth Story. (2022, August 22). Developments in climate finance and implications for Pakistan. Pakistan's Growth Story. https://devpakblog.com/2022/08/19/developments-in-climate-finance-andimplications-for-pakistan/
Team, T. V. J. (2022, August 31). Pakistan floods: Map and satellite photos show extent of devastation. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-62728678
United Nations. (2022, September 2). Pakistan: More than 6.4 million in 'dire need' after unprecedented floods | | UN news. United Nations. Retrieved September 21, 2022, from https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1126001
