On Sunday evening, more over 60 millimeters (2.3 inches) of the rain was falling in Karachi, which is equivalent to a whole month worth of precipitation in just question of hours.
Every summer for several months, Pakistan struggles with with torrential monsoon rains, but in In recent years, experts say climate change is accelerating existing weather patterns.
From the start of the rainy season last month, more than 300 people Torrential rains have died in Pakistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
In Karachi, the capital of province of Sindh and home to nearly 16 million, entire areas were partially flooded. A photo show people wander knee-deep in muddy flood water, with vehicles left stuck in a flood.
Infrastructure, including bridges, highways and roads, was damaged, disrupting traffic and turning lives upside down. of millions through city. Many stocked up up on fuel for their generators in case of power shutdowns.
“Climate change is a threat. We are coastal city. It goes like this fast and we will bear the brunt,” said Afia Salam, climate change advocate in Karachi. “People need see the situation beyond the individual events like the bridge falls or the road is flooded.”
Climate crisis and poor infrastructure
Heavy rains are frequent in Pakistan from July to September, but experts say the amount of rain has only intensified. in both in frequency and intensity.
“Speed of these events increases and our reaction doesn’t hold paceSalam said. — We respond to individual events. Strategies need be delivered in place.”
According to the World Bank, Karachi’s infrastructure is highly vulnerable to climate-related natural disasters.
Crisis exacerbated by poverty flood management and ineffective response to natural disasters, experts say.
Other provinces including Balochistan in southwest, yes also experienced heavy rains in last days. At least 87 people were killed in province due to “heavy rain, flooding and infrastructure destruction” just this month, according to a report from the provincial disaster management agency (PDMA).
Two people – woman and child – died on Sunday after roof collapse in Jafarabad district of the province, according to Nasir Nasar, PDMA director general.
At least eight dams in The PDMA report states that Balochistan was breached and nine bridges were damaged. More than 700 livestock died as a result of the flood. added.
Karachi main streets that house financial institutions and bank headquarters including the central Pakistani bank were flooded and rescue services were using boats to get aground people.
Extreme weather blows millions
Extreme weather events in South Asia is becoming more frequent due to climate change, with temperature in parts of India and Pakistan reach record levels during heat wave in April and May.
Inhabitants in Pir Koch, a. remote mountain town in province of Balochistan, had no access for drinking water purification. Absence of it was raining caused nearby drying ponds up, with their only source of the water was a pipeline that “rusted and polluted the water supply,” said Hassan Bugti, a local resident.
Report of the Intergovernmental Panel of Experts for 2022 on Climate Change (IPCC) has stated that they have an average confidence what heat waves and humidity would become more “intense and frequent” and “annual and summer monsoon rainfall will increase”.
Asim Khan of CNN provided the coverage.
