Global warming has caused extreme weather conditions in the past few decades, leading to heat waves, droughts, flood risk, etc. According to a World Bank report, South and East Asia has nearly 70% of the population at risk of flooding. Recent floods in Pakistan have caused havoc across the country, with the climate change minister calling it a “serious climate disaster”.Squareyards Pakistan’s smartest real estate portal, provides a comprehensive analysis of how climate change has played a major role in causing these floods and their aftermath.
According to top government officials, around 33 million people have been affected by the recent floods. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that the flood death toll crossed 1,000 on 28 August (reaching 1,033), with 119 deaths in the last 24 hours.
In addition, more than 809,000 hectares of cultivated crops, 3,451 kilometers of roads and almost 1 million houses were completely destroyed.The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has assessed the flood situation and issued a province-by-province report, according to which Balochistan and Sindh were the most affected by the floods. 304,475 and 2.8 million acres of crops were affected in 23 districts and around 500,000 and 202,593 animals were killed in Balochistan and Sindh.
Around 1 million houses were destroyed in these floods in various areas and the authorities prioritized providing shelter to the displaced communities. An effective method is the construction of bamboo sheds. These were also built in 2010 when the first female architect of Pakistan, Yasmeen Lari, came up with the idea of zero carbon, zero waste, low cost and waterproof construction. These shelters contain materials such as bamboo, mud, lime and debris on site. They rest on stilts, which allow people to live 7 to 8 feet above the ground, and therefore provide them with shelter in case the water rises above ground level.
Climate change and flood risk – how they are linked
There is strong evidence that flooding worldwide will increase as a result of climate change. Climatologists believe that further emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane will reduce the Earth’s ability to cool and radiate more energy into space.
This will cause the atmosphere to warm, increasing the risk of flooding in the regions most at risk from climate change.
Warmer temperatures will also result in more precipitation, making the air able to hold more moisture, leading to an increase in precipitation intensity, frequency, and duration.
This has been witnessed in this monsoon season when Pakistan has seen more average rainfall compared to last year.
In August, the country received an average of 166.8 mm of rain, while last year’s average was 48 mm. The data shows flood risk that the unusual rainfall that the country experienced this year ultimately resulted in the current flash floods.
However, more data will be needed to link these heavy rainfall and river flows to global climate change.
Conclusion
There are many ways to reduce the risk of flooding, including implementing sustainable forestry practices, implementing flood control measures, building more dams, installing more dewatering pumps and storage tanks; and implementing more effective flood warning mechanisms for flood risk.
To deal with climate change as a whole, governments around the world need to come up with strategic plans to reduce carbon emissions that can help cool the Earth’s atmosphere.
Read More:
CDA plans to build Cricket Stadium and five-star hotel near Margalla hills