Sardar Sarfaraz of the Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Thursday that there were 16 such incidents in the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2022, compared to just five or six in previous years. “Such incidents occur after the melting of the glaciers due to [a] warming,” Sarfaraz told Reuters, adding: “Climate change is the main reason for such things.” The melting of glaciers is one of the clearest, most visible signs of the climate crisis and one of its most immediate consequences. It is not yet clear how much the current flood crisis in Pakistan may be linked to melting glaciers. But unless global-warming emissions are curbed, Sarfaraz suggests the country’s glaciers will continue to melt apace. “Global warming will not stop until we limit greenhouse gases, and if global warming does not stop, these effects of climate change will increase,” he said. Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s global warming gases, according to European Union data, yet it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. That vulnerability has been on display for months, with record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the country’s northern mountains causing floods that have killed at least 1,191 people — including 399 children — since mid-June.
New fears of flooding
On Thursday, southern Pakistan braced for more flooding as a surge of water rolled into the Indus River, deepening the devastation in a country a third of which has already been inundated by the disaster caused by climate change. The United Nations appealed for $160 million to help with what it called an “unprecedented climate disaster.” “We are on high alert as water reaching downstream from the northern floods is expected to enter the province in the coming days,” Sindh provincial government spokesman Murtaza Wahab told Reuters. Wahab said a flow of about 600,000 cubic feet per second is expected to swell the Indus, testing its flood defenses. Pakistan has received almost 190% more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months from June to August, totaling 390.7 millimeters (15.38 inches). Sindh, with a population of 50 million, has been hardest hit, with 466% more rainfall than the 30-year average. Some parts of the province resemble an inland sea with only occasional patches of trees or raised roads breaking the surface of the murky flood waters. Hundreds of families have taken refuge on the streets, the only land in sight for many of them. Villagers rushed to meet a Reuters news team passing along a road near the town of Dadu on Thursday, asking for food or other aid. The floods have swept away homes, businesses, infrastructure and roads. Permanent and stored crops have been destroyed and about two million acres (809,371 hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded. The government says 33 million people, or 15 percent of the population of 220 million, have been affected. The National Disaster Management Authority said some 480,030 people have been displaced and are being cared for in camps, but even those not forced from their homes are at risk. “More than three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance and are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to the worst floods in Pakistan’s recent history,” the UN children’s agency warned. The World Health Organization said more than 6.4 million people were in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Aid has begun to arrive in planes laden with food, tents and medicine, mainly from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Aid groups have called on the government to allow food imports from neighboring India, across the closed border that for decades has been the front line of confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals. The government has not indicated that it is willing to open borders to Indian food imports. CNN’s Angela Dewan and Azaz Syed contributed reporting.
title: “Glacial Lake Eruptions Rise In Pakistan As Country Struggles With Devastating Floods Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Christine Keith”
Sardar Sarfaraz of the Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Thursday that there were 16 such incidents in the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2022, compared to just five or six in previous years. “Such incidents occur after the melting of the glaciers due to [a] warming,” Sarfaraz told Reuters, adding: “Climate change is the main reason for such things.” The melting of glaciers is one of the clearest, most visible signs of the climate crisis and one of its most immediate consequences. It is not yet clear how much the current flood crisis in Pakistan may be linked to melting glaciers. But unless global-warming emissions are curbed, Sarfaraz suggests the country’s glaciers will continue to melt apace. “Global warming will not stop until we limit greenhouse gases, and if global warming does not stop, these effects of climate change will increase,” he said. Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s global warming gases, according to European Union data, yet it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. That vulnerability has been on display for months, with record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the country’s northern mountains causing floods that have killed at least 1,191 people — including 399 children — since mid-June.
New fears of flooding
On Thursday, southern Pakistan braced for more flooding as a surge of water rolled into the Indus River, deepening the devastation in a country a third of which has already been inundated by the disaster caused by climate change. The United Nations appealed for $160 million to help with what it called an “unprecedented climate disaster.” “We are on high alert as water reaching downstream from the northern floods is expected to enter the province in the coming days,” Sindh provincial government spokesman Murtaza Wahab told Reuters. Wahab said a flow of about 600,000 cubic feet per second is expected to swell the Indus, testing its flood defenses. Pakistan has received almost 190% more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months from June to August, totaling 390.7 millimeters (15.38 inches). Sindh, with a population of 50 million, has been hardest hit, with 466% more rainfall than the 30-year average. Some parts of the province resemble an inland sea with only occasional patches of trees or raised roads breaking the surface of the murky flood waters. Hundreds of families have taken refuge on the streets, the only land in sight for many of them. Villagers rushed to meet a Reuters news team passing along a road near the town of Dadu on Thursday, asking for food or other aid. The floods have swept away homes, businesses, infrastructure and roads. Permanent and stored crops have been destroyed and about two million acres (809,371 hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded. The government says 33 million people, or 15 percent of the population of 220 million, have been affected. The National Disaster Management Authority said some 480,030 people have been displaced and are being cared for in camps, but even those not forced from their homes are at risk. “More than three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance and are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to the worst floods in Pakistan’s recent history,” the UN children’s agency warned. The World Health Organization said more than 6.4 million people were in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Aid has begun to arrive in planes laden with food, tents and medicine, mainly from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Aid groups have called on the government to allow food imports from neighboring India, across the closed border that for decades has been the front line of confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals. The government has not indicated that it is willing to open borders to Indian food imports. CNN’s Angela Dewan and Azaz Syed contributed reporting.
title: “Glacial Lake Eruptions Rise In Pakistan As Country Struggles With Devastating Floods Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-10” author: “Ervin Scarberry”
Sardar Sarfaraz of the Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Thursday that there were 16 such incidents in the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2022, compared to just five or six in previous years. “Such incidents occur after the melting of the glaciers due to [a] warming,” Sarfaraz told Reuters, adding: “Climate change is the main reason for such things.” The melting of glaciers is one of the clearest, most visible signs of the climate crisis and one of its most immediate consequences. It is not yet clear how much the current flood crisis in Pakistan may be linked to melting glaciers. But unless global-warming emissions are curbed, Sarfaraz suggests the country’s glaciers will continue to melt apace. “Global warming will not stop until we limit greenhouse gases, and if global warming does not stop, these effects of climate change will increase,” he said. Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s global warming gases, according to European Union data, yet it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. That vulnerability has been on display for months, with record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the country’s northern mountains causing floods that have killed at least 1,191 people — including 399 children — since mid-June.
New fears of flooding
On Thursday, southern Pakistan braced for more flooding as a surge of water rolled into the Indus River, deepening the devastation in a country a third of which has already been inundated by the disaster caused by climate change. The United Nations appealed for $160 million to help with what it called an “unprecedented climate disaster.” “We are on high alert as water reaching downstream from the northern floods is expected to enter the province in the coming days,” Sindh provincial government spokesman Murtaza Wahab told Reuters. Wahab said a flow of about 600,000 cubic feet per second is expected to swell the Indus, testing its flood defenses. Pakistan has received almost 190% more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months from June to August, totaling 390.7 millimeters (15.38 inches). Sindh, with a population of 50 million, has been hardest hit, with 466% more rainfall than the 30-year average. Some parts of the province resemble an inland sea with only occasional patches of trees or raised roads breaking the surface of the murky flood waters. Hundreds of families have taken refuge on the streets, the only land in sight for many of them. Villagers rushed to meet a Reuters news team passing along a road near the town of Dadu on Thursday, asking for food or other aid. The floods have swept away homes, businesses, infrastructure and roads. Permanent and stored crops have been destroyed and about two million acres (809,371 hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded. The government says 33 million people, or 15 percent of the population of 220 million, have been affected. The National Disaster Management Authority said some 480,030 people have been displaced and are being cared for in camps, but even those not forced from their homes are at risk. “More than three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance and are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to the worst floods in Pakistan’s recent history,” the UN children’s agency warned. The World Health Organization said more than 6.4 million people were in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Aid has begun to arrive in planes laden with food, tents and medicine, mainly from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Aid groups have called on the government to allow food imports from neighboring India, across the closed border that for decades has been the front line of confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals. The government has not indicated that it is willing to open borders to Indian food imports. CNN’s Angela Dewan and Azaz Syed contributed reporting.
title: “Glacial Lake Eruptions Rise In Pakistan As Country Struggles With Devastating Floods Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-09” author: “Thomas Grambo”
Sardar Sarfaraz of the Pakistan Meteorological Department said on Thursday that there were 16 such incidents in the country’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region in 2022, compared to just five or six in previous years. “Such incidents occur after the melting of the glaciers due to [a] warming,” Sarfaraz told Reuters, adding: “Climate change is the main reason for such things.” The melting of glaciers is one of the clearest, most visible signs of the climate crisis and one of its most immediate consequences. It is not yet clear how much the current flood crisis in Pakistan may be linked to melting glaciers. But unless global-warming emissions are curbed, Sarfaraz suggests the country’s glaciers will continue to melt apace. “Global warming will not stop until we limit greenhouse gases, and if global warming does not stop, these effects of climate change will increase,” he said. Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of the world’s global warming gases, according to European Union data, yet it is the eighth most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis, according to the Global Climate Risk Index. That vulnerability has been on display for months, with record monsoon rains and melting glaciers in the country’s northern mountains causing floods that have killed at least 1,191 people — including 399 children — since mid-June.
New fears of flooding
On Thursday, southern Pakistan braced for more flooding as a surge of water rolled into the Indus River, deepening the devastation in a country a third of which has already been inundated by the disaster caused by climate change. The United Nations appealed for $160 million to help with what it called an “unprecedented climate disaster.” “We are on high alert as water reaching downstream from the northern floods is expected to enter the province in the coming days,” Sindh provincial government spokesman Murtaza Wahab told Reuters. Wahab said a flow of about 600,000 cubic feet per second is expected to swell the Indus, testing its flood defenses. Pakistan has received almost 190% more rainfall than the 30-year average in the three months from June to August, totaling 390.7 millimeters (15.38 inches). Sindh, with a population of 50 million, has been hardest hit, with 466% more rainfall than the 30-year average. Some parts of the province resemble an inland sea with only occasional patches of trees or raised roads breaking the surface of the murky flood waters. Hundreds of families have taken refuge on the streets, the only land in sight for many of them. Villagers rushed to meet a Reuters news team passing along a road near the town of Dadu on Thursday, asking for food or other aid. The floods have swept away homes, businesses, infrastructure and roads. Permanent and stored crops have been destroyed and about two million acres (809,371 hectares) of agricultural land have been flooded. The government says 33 million people, or 15 percent of the population of 220 million, have been affected. The National Disaster Management Authority said some 480,030 people have been displaced and are being cared for in camps, but even those not forced from their homes are at risk. “More than three million children are in need of humanitarian assistance and are at increased risk of waterborne diseases, drowning and malnutrition due to the worst floods in Pakistan’s recent history,” the UN children’s agency warned. The World Health Organization said more than 6.4 million people were in dire need of humanitarian assistance. Aid has begun to arrive in planes laden with food, tents and medicine, mainly from China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. Aid groups have called on the government to allow food imports from neighboring India, across the closed border that for decades has been the front line of confrontation between the nuclear-armed rivals. The government has not indicated that it is willing to open borders to Indian food imports. CNN’s Angela Dewan and Azaz Syed contributed reporting.
