Bridge Collapse Amid Heat Wave in Pakistan Raises Fears of Massive Glacier Melt Flooding

[RiazHaq]

Bridge Collapse Amid Heat Wave in Pakistan Raises Fears of Massive Glacier Melt Flooding

Record-high temperatures in Pakistan caused Shisper glacier to melt rapidly, triggering the collapse of the Hassanabad Bridge along the Kara...

www.southasiainvestor.com

Record-high temperatures in Pakistan caused Shisper glacier to melt rapidly, triggering the collapse of the Hassanabad Bridge along the Karakoram Highway last week. With 7,253 known glaciers, Pakistan is home to more glacial ice than any other country on earth outside the polar regions. If these start melting in increasingly severe heat waves, there could be massive flooding in the country. Pakistan is among the most vulnerable to climate change.

Hasanabad Bridge Collapse in Pakistan

India and Pakistan have been hit by a severe heat wave very early this summer. Jacobabad, a city in Sindh province, hit 122ºF (50ºC) in April, one of the highest April temperatures recorded in the world. Dadu, another city in Sindh, recorded 117ºF (47ºC). "This is the first time in decades that Pakistan is experiencing what many call a 'spring-less year," Pakistan's Minister of Climate Change, Sherry Rehman said in a statement. The consequences of rising temperatures in South Asia could be very severe, ranging from crop losses, food shortages and floods.

Record High Temperature in Jacobabad, Pakistan

Pakistan's contribution to global carbon emissions is less than 1% but it is still ranked among countries most vulnerable to climate change. The energy-hungry nation needs help to finance climate-friendly development of clean energy sources and climate-resilient infrastructure. Last year at COP26 conference in Glasgow, Pakistan provided its NDCs 2021 (national determined contribution 2021) to the United Nations ahead. Some of Pakistan's NDC targets are voluntary while others are contingent upon the receipt of financial assistance from the rich nations most responsible for the climate crisis. Some of Pakistan's solution are nature-based such as its Billion Tree Afforestation Project (BTAP) while others require significant increase in low-carbon energy from wind, solar, hydro and nuclear.

Pakistan NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) For Climate Goals. Source: UN

Malik Amin Aslam, former Prime Minister Imran Khan's special assistant on climate change, said in an interview with CNN that his country is seeking to change its energy mix to favor green. He said Pakistan's 60% renewable energy target would be based on solar, wind and hydro power projects, and 40% would come from hydrocarbon and nuclear which is also low-carbon. “Nuclear power has to be part of the country’s energy mix for future as a zero energy emission source for clean and green future,” he concluded. Here are the key points Aslam made to Becky Anderson of CNN:

1. Pakistan wants to be a part of the solution even though it accounts for less than 1% of global carbon emissions. . Extreme weather events are costing Pakistan significant losses of lives and property.

2. Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

3. Pakistan is moving towards renewable energy by converting 60% of its energy mix to renewable by 2030. Electric vehicle (EV) transition is also beginning in his country.

4. Aslam said: “We are one of the world leaders on nature based solutions. However, the World Bank (WB) in its Report yesterday came up with really good numbers in a comparison done of countries who are shifting their mainstream development towards environment friendly policies and Pakistan came atop among them,” the SAPM explained.

Pakistan Power Generation Fuel Mix. Source: Third Pole

Here's a video of Malik Amin Aslam's interview with CNN's Becky Anderson:

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Bridge Collapse Amid Heat Wave in Pakistan Raises Fears of Massive Glacier Melt Flooding

Record-high temperatures in Pakistan caused Shisper glacier to melt rapidly, triggering the collapse of the Hassanabad Bridge along the Kara...

www.southasiainvestor.com

 

[RiazHaq]

Northern Hemisphere feeling the heat as #Pakistan hits staggering 51 C. Even #Canada is getting in on the heat action earlier this year, with #Ontario and #Quebec currently sizzling under a stretch of 30 C days. #climate #GlobalWarming https://news.yahoo.com/northern-hem...8.html?soc_src=social-sh&soc_trk=tw&tsrc=twtr via @YahooNews

With summer just around the corner, the Northern Hemisphere isn't waiting until June 21 for the heat to arrive.

On the other side of the globe, a blistering heat wave in Pakistan resulted in Jacobabad hitting 51°C on Saturday -- the hottest temperature on the planet so far this year, according to international meteorological experts. Australia’s average temperature has been recorded at 50.7°C. Other Pakistani cities came close to that number, though, with Shaheed Benazirabad and Nawabshah reaching 50.5°C while Moenjo Daro hit 50°C.

According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), the temperatures were far above the average temperatures they typically see in May. In Jacobabad, for example, the average highest temperature in May is 43.8°C while the median for Shaheed Benazirabad and Mohenjodaro is 44.6°C and 44°C, respectively. Larkana's average for the month is 43.9°C and Dadu's is 44°C. With their averages sitting in the 40s, any daytime high that is 5-8°C above normal is adding insult to injury.

In addition to the 50-degree temperatures, Karachi recorded one of its hottest days in May in nearly a decade. According to PMD, the city reached 42.8°C on Saturday. The last time it was this hot in May occurred in 2018, when temperatures soared to 46°C.

It's not a one-time heat event, either. The past 60 days across the region have featured temperatures averaging 6°C above normal, making this spring particularly scorching.

HEAT FELT IN CENTRAL CANADA
Even Canada is getting in on the heat action, with Ontario and Quebec currently sizzling under a stretch of 30-degree days. An event that seems to be more unusual and anomalous for this part of the world at this time of the year, says Tyler Hamilton, a meteorologist at The Weather Network.

A strong ridge of high pressure over the eastern half of the country is responsible for the ongoing heat wave. According to MétéoMédia, there has been very few heat waves in recorded in Quebec during the month of May.

In fact, Friday saw temperatures reach up to 34°C in Saguenay, Que. -- making it the hottest-ever daytime high recorded in Quebec in the first half of May or earlier.

Canada's first 30-degree reading in 2022 was recorded on Tuesday in Moosonee, Ont., where it hit 30.2°C. Kapuskasing, Ont., was a close second this year -- scoring a daytime high of 30.1°C on the same day.

 

[SaadH]

Sherry Rehman the incoming Imported Gov't's Minister for Climate Change has launched the campaign to fight climate change by starting an investigation into why trees were being planted by the previous gov't.

 

[RiazHaq]

#Climatechange boosted odds of record #heat in #Pakistan and #India. Key farming areas in India are expected to see a 10 to 35% decrease in #crop #yields due to #heatwave, driving up local market #prices & reducing global #wheat supplies. #Modi #wheatban https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2022/05/23/india-pakistan-heat-climate-change/?tid=ss_tw

The extreme heat experienced by India and Pakistan in March and April was the most intense, widespread and persistent in the region’s recorded history. A study released Monday finds that human-caused climate change had made this historic event at least 30 times as likely. It determined that climate change elevated temperatures of the heat wave by about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (one degree Celsius) compared to pre-industrial times.

“What was particularly exceptional and particularly unusual was how early it started,” Friederike Otto, co-author of the study, said in a news conference on Monday.

India experienced its highest March temperatures in 122 years, and Pakistan and northwestern and central India endured their hottest April. Numerous all-time and monthly temperature records were broken across both countries. Over the two months, extreme heat affected nearly 70 percent of India and 30 percent of Pakistan.


This heat event would have been “highly, highly unlikely” in a world without climate change, said Arpita Mondal, a co-author and professor at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.

The heat took an enormous toll on people throughout the region. Workers were no longer able to work full days outside, putting a strain on their livelihoods and the economy. Key farming areas in India are expected to see a 10 to 35 percent decrease in crop yields due to the heat wave, driving up local market prices and reducing global wheat supplies at a time when supplies are already under stress because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of forest fires also burned across India. In Pakistan, snowmelt caused a glacial lake to flood and wipe out a key bridge.

Across the two countries, at least 90 deaths have been tied to the heat.

The analysis was conducted by the group World Weather Attribution, which uses computer modeling to investigate the links between ongoing weather events and climate change. The team ran simulations using 20 different models with and without the effects of human-induced climate change to determine the effect of rising temperatures on the magnitude of the heat. The results, which are not yet peer-reviewed, come from well-established methodologies that have been used in past analyses, including one conducted on the 2021 Pacific Northwest heat wave.

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“We have studied many heat waves, and in all cases but one climate change was clearly assessed as the main driver of the change in the likelihood,” said Robert Vautard, director of the Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute in France and co-author of several studies with World Weather Attribution.

Northern India and Pakistan face another round of heat later this week. After some relatively cool weather the next several days, temperatures are forecast to rise several degrees above average Friday into the weekend.