Enigma SIG
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DHA boys at the front seat looking for clean slate prime agricultural land to build new DHAs with foreign aid money.
Climate Change: Pakistan Requires Massive Assistance to Recover From Catastrophic Floods
- Thread starter RiazHaq
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Enigma SIG
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The devastating floods in Pakistan are a "wake-up call" to the world on the threats of climate change, experts have said.
The record-breaking rain would devastate any country, not just poorer nations, one climate scientist has told BBC News.
The human impacts are clear - another 2,000 people were rescued from floodwaters on Friday, while ministers warn of food shortages after almost half the country's crops were washed away.
A sense of injustice is keenly felt in the country. Pakistan contributes less than 1% of the global greenhouse gases that warm our planet but its geography makes it extremely vulnerable to climate change.
"Literally, one-third of Pakistan is underwater right now, which has exceeded every boundary, every norm we've seen in the past," Climate minister Sherry Rehman said this week.
Pakistan is located at a place on the globe which bears the brunt of two major weather systems. One can cause high temperatures and drought, like the heatwave in March, and the other brings monsoon rains.
The majority of Pakistan's population live along the Indus river, which swells and can flood during monsoon rains.
The science linking climate change and more intense monsoons is quite simple. Global warming is making air and sea temperatures rise, leading to more evaporation. Warmer air can hold more moisture, making monsoon rainfall more intense.
Scientists predict that the average rainfall in the Indian summer monsoon season will increase due to climate change, explains Anja Katzenberger at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
But Pakistan has something else making it susceptible to climate change effects - its immense glaciers.
The northern region is sometimes referred to as the 'third pole' - it contains more glacial ice than anywhere in the world outside of the polar regions.
As the world warms, glacial ice is melting. Glaciers in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions are melting rapidly, creating more than 3,000 lakes, the the UN Development Programme told BBC News. Around 33 of these are at risk of sudden bursting, which could unleash millions of cubic meters of water and debris, putting 7 million people at risk.
Pakistan's government and the UN are attempting to reduce the risks of these sudden outburst floods by installing early-warning systems and protective infrastructure.
In the past poorer countries with weaker flood defences or lower-quality housing have been less able to cope with extreme rainfall.
But climate impact scientist Fahad Saeed told BBC News that even a rich nation would be overwhelmed by the catastrophic flooding this summer.
"This is a different type of animal - the scale of the floods is so high and the rain is so extreme, that even very robust defences would struggle," Dr Saeed explains from Islamabad, Pakistan.
He points to the flooding in Germany and Belgium that killed dozens of people in 2021.
Pakistan received nearly 190% more rain than its 30-year average from June to August - reaching a total of 390.7mm.
He says that Pakistan's meteorological service did a "reasonable" job in warning people in advance about flooding. And the country does have some flood defences but they could be improved, he says.
People with the smallest carbon footprints are suffering the most, Dr Saeed says.
"The victims are living in mud homes with hardly any resources - they have contributed virtually nothing to climate change," he says.
The flooding has affected areas that don't normally see this type of rain, including southern regions Sindh and Balochistan that are normally arid or semi-arid.
How Pakistan floods are linked to climate change
Pakistan's geography - and its immense glaciers - make it vulnerable to climate change.
www.bbc.com
The record-breaking rain would devastate any country, not just poorer nations, one climate scientist has told BBC News.
The human impacts are clear - another 2,000 people were rescued from floodwaters on Friday, while ministers warn of food shortages after almost half the country's crops were washed away.
A sense of injustice is keenly felt in the country. Pakistan contributes less than 1% of the global greenhouse gases that warm our planet but its geography makes it extremely vulnerable to climate change.
"Literally, one-third of Pakistan is underwater right now, which has exceeded every boundary, every norm we've seen in the past," Climate minister Sherry Rehman said this week.
Pakistan is located at a place on the globe which bears the brunt of two major weather systems. One can cause high temperatures and drought, like the heatwave in March, and the other brings monsoon rains.
The majority of Pakistan's population live along the Indus river, which swells and can flood during monsoon rains.
The science linking climate change and more intense monsoons is quite simple. Global warming is making air and sea temperatures rise, leading to more evaporation. Warmer air can hold more moisture, making monsoon rainfall more intense.
Scientists predict that the average rainfall in the Indian summer monsoon season will increase due to climate change, explains Anja Katzenberger at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.
But Pakistan has something else making it susceptible to climate change effects - its immense glaciers.
The northern region is sometimes referred to as the 'third pole' - it contains more glacial ice than anywhere in the world outside of the polar regions.
As the world warms, glacial ice is melting. Glaciers in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa regions are melting rapidly, creating more than 3,000 lakes, the the UN Development Programme told BBC News. Around 33 of these are at risk of sudden bursting, which could unleash millions of cubic meters of water and debris, putting 7 million people at risk.
Pakistan's government and the UN are attempting to reduce the risks of these sudden outburst floods by installing early-warning systems and protective infrastructure.
In the past poorer countries with weaker flood defences or lower-quality housing have been less able to cope with extreme rainfall.
But climate impact scientist Fahad Saeed told BBC News that even a rich nation would be overwhelmed by the catastrophic flooding this summer.
"This is a different type of animal - the scale of the floods is so high and the rain is so extreme, that even very robust defences would struggle," Dr Saeed explains from Islamabad, Pakistan.
He points to the flooding in Germany and Belgium that killed dozens of people in 2021.
Pakistan received nearly 190% more rain than its 30-year average from June to August - reaching a total of 390.7mm.
He says that Pakistan's meteorological service did a "reasonable" job in warning people in advance about flooding. And the country does have some flood defences but they could be improved, he says.
People with the smallest carbon footprints are suffering the most, Dr Saeed says.
"The victims are living in mud homes with hardly any resources - they have contributed virtually nothing to climate change," he says.
The flooding has affected areas that don't normally see this type of rain, including southern regions Sindh and Balochistan that are normally arid or semi-arid.
SoulSpokesman
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@RiazHaq
Brofessor sb,
Pakistan received nearly 190% more rain than its 30-year average from June to August - reaching a total of 390.7mm.
Large parts of India receive more than 100 cm in monsoons without getting flooded. So why is Pak getting flooded with 390 mm or 39 cm rain? Or is it 390 cm? Am I missing something?
Regards
Brofessor sb,
Pakistan received nearly 190% more rain than its 30-year average from June to August - reaching a total of 390.7mm.
Large parts of India receive more than 100 cm in monsoons without getting flooded. So why is Pak getting flooded with 390 mm or 39 cm rain? Or is it 390 cm? Am I missing something?
Regards
Sad to see so many days have passed and still leadership does not have a plan that they can direct everyone to work for, everyone is just rooting for donations which don't solve anything.
We need to do is.
1. Request international community to freeze loan repayments for 3-6yrs so we can use same funds for rebuilding. Asking them to cancel loans is unpractical and will prevent future loans but freezing them is definitely plausible.
2. Initiate more dams and ask international community to fund them, which can reduce the chances of future floods. This will also solve our expensive electricity crises and reduce fuel consumption which will also reduce current account deficit. Sadly gov is pushing for 10000MW solar power instead (can be installed quicker) which is a much less efficient solution as its a partial solution, not as effective as dams. Building dams will also create more jobs and better renewable resource.
3. Anyone criticizing trying to halt dam construction to be tried in court as its a matter of national importance.
4. Improved water management system should be installed with flow measurement to check actual availability of water and rectify the system losses. This is something tried by last gov but opposed by Sindh.
5. Use army/NLC to create a system for delivery at time of flood with local union councils handling final distribution of relief goods. At moment remote distribution is a issue.
6. Dig wells (dry/wet) at locations where they can be used to replenish ground water. Some smart housing societies have built dams that are dry but collect rain water for absorption by underground bores that feed under ground water levels.
7. Create temp housing camps with food provisions near flood areas so people don't migrate to other cities creating additional problems.
We need to do is.
1. Request international community to freeze loan repayments for 3-6yrs so we can use same funds for rebuilding. Asking them to cancel loans is unpractical and will prevent future loans but freezing them is definitely plausible.
2. Initiate more dams and ask international community to fund them, which can reduce the chances of future floods. This will also solve our expensive electricity crises and reduce fuel consumption which will also reduce current account deficit. Sadly gov is pushing for 10000MW solar power instead (can be installed quicker) which is a much less efficient solution as its a partial solution, not as effective as dams. Building dams will also create more jobs and better renewable resource.
3. Anyone criticizing trying to halt dam construction to be tried in court as its a matter of national importance.
4. Improved water management system should be installed with flow measurement to check actual availability of water and rectify the system losses. This is something tried by last gov but opposed by Sindh.
5. Use army/NLC to create a system for delivery at time of flood with local union councils handling final distribution of relief goods. At moment remote distribution is a issue.
6. Dig wells (dry/wet) at locations where they can be used to replenish ground water. Some smart housing societies have built dams that are dry but collect rain water for absorption by underground bores that feed under ground water levels.
7. Create temp housing camps with food provisions near flood areas so people don't migrate to other cities creating additional problems.
Dalit
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They won't. Overseas Pakistanis aren't stupid to invest their hard earned money in a corrupt regime. We have seen all the pleading and venting in Pakistani media LOL Paid content writers pleading to overseas Pakistanis to play their part. This pleading isn't having any effect.
Fun fact. Did you know that remittances have dropped to record lows?
Signalian
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Governments and Armies of developed countries dont show up always, be thankful for what you have.
Don't think its Government's and Army's job lol
Go through the following video.
Or be thank less, suit yourself
keep complaining.
Enigma SIG
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Hmm lets see.Don't think its Government's and Army's job lol
Or be thank less, suit yourself
I have a security guard at the gate, and instead of just watching the gate, he runs my finances, decides what I eat; when I can take a dump, stops my car from entering my own house for an hour or two, sleeps in my bed, and asks me to fix my leaking water pump because his seat at the door is under 3 inches of water.
Pretty sure my security guard hasn't heard of a RACI Matrix in his entire life lmao.
Signalian
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You can dwell in your world, I will live in the realistic world with the proof I gave about developed nation where Army/Government didnt show up.
If a video as proof isn't enough, I am not here satisfying your insecurities.
Enigma SIG
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In your real world the system failed the people.
Considering this country has relied on legacy British lawmaking and whatnot, no wonder the system fails the people here as well. Plus point is the military gets to score brownie points just to stay at the top of the news cycle. How's that for satisfying insecurities hehe.
‘Very Dire’: Devastated by Floods, Pakistan Faces Looming Food Crisis
The flooding has crippled Pakistan’s agricultural sector, battering the country as it reels from an economic crisis and double-digit inflation that has sent the price of basics soaring.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/world/asia/pakistan-floods-food-crisis.html
Violent swells have swept away roads, homes, schools and hospitals across much of Pakistan. Millions of people have been driven from their homes, struggling through waist-deep, fetid water to reach islands of safety. Nearly all of the country’s crops along with thousands of livestock and stores of wheat and fertilizer have been damaged — prompting warnings of a looming food crisis.
Since a deluge of monsoon rains lashed Pakistan last week, piling more water on top of more than two months of record flooding that has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of millions, the Pakistani government and international relief organizations have scrambled to save people and vital infrastructure in what officials have called a climate disaster of epic proportions.
Floodwater now covers around a third of the country, including its agricultural belt, with more rain predicted in the coming weeks. The damage from the flood will likely be “far greater” than initial estimates of around $10 billion, according to the country’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal.
The flooding has crippled a country that was already reeling from an economic crisis and double digit-inflation that has sent the price of basic goods soaring. Now the flooding threatens to set Pakistan back years or even decades, officials warned, and to fan the flames of political tensions that have engulfed the country since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted last spring.
The damage to the country’s agricultural sector could also be felt across the globe, experts warn. Pakistan is one of the world’s top producers and exporters of cotton and rice — crops that have been devastated by the flood. As much as half of the country’s cotton crop has been destroyed, officials said, a blow to global cotton production in a year when cotton prices have soared as other major producers from the United States to China have been hit with extreme weather.
The floodwaters also threaten to derail Pakistan’s wheat planting season this fall, raising the possibility of continued food shortfalls and price spikes through next year. It is an alarming prospect in a country that depends on its wheat production to feed itself at a time when global wheat supplies are precarious.
“We’re in a very dire situation,” said Rathi Palakrishnan, deputy country director of the World Food Program in Pakistan. “There’s no buffer stocks of wheat, there’s no seeds because farmers have lost them.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, along with the United Nations, has appealed for $160 million in emergency funding to reach 5.2 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
The scale of the devastation in Pakistan stands out even in a year punctuated by extreme weather, including heat waves across Europe and the United States, intense rain that has drenched parts of Asia and the worst drought to hit East Africa in decades.
Since the start of the monsoon season in Pakistan this summer, more than 1,300 people have died in floods — nearly half of whom are children — and more than 6,000 have been injured, according to the United Nations. Around 33 million people have been displaced. Floodwater now covers around 100,000 square miles — an area larger than the size of Britain — with more floods expected in the coming weeks.
Sindh Province, which produces around a third of the country’s food supply, has been among the hardest hit by the rains. The province received nearly six times its 30-year average rainfall this monsoon season, which has damaged around 50 percent of the province’s crops, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
The flooding has crippled Pakistan’s agricultural sector, battering the country as it reels from an economic crisis and double-digit inflation that has sent the price of basics soaring.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/11/world/asia/pakistan-floods-food-crisis.html
Violent swells have swept away roads, homes, schools and hospitals across much of Pakistan. Millions of people have been driven from their homes, struggling through waist-deep, fetid water to reach islands of safety. Nearly all of the country’s crops along with thousands of livestock and stores of wheat and fertilizer have been damaged — prompting warnings of a looming food crisis.
Since a deluge of monsoon rains lashed Pakistan last week, piling more water on top of more than two months of record flooding that has killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of millions, the Pakistani government and international relief organizations have scrambled to save people and vital infrastructure in what officials have called a climate disaster of epic proportions.
Floodwater now covers around a third of the country, including its agricultural belt, with more rain predicted in the coming weeks. The damage from the flood will likely be “far greater” than initial estimates of around $10 billion, according to the country’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal.
The flooding has crippled a country that was already reeling from an economic crisis and double digit-inflation that has sent the price of basic goods soaring. Now the flooding threatens to set Pakistan back years or even decades, officials warned, and to fan the flames of political tensions that have engulfed the country since former Prime Minister Imran Khan was ousted last spring.
The damage to the country’s agricultural sector could also be felt across the globe, experts warn. Pakistan is one of the world’s top producers and exporters of cotton and rice — crops that have been devastated by the flood. As much as half of the country’s cotton crop has been destroyed, officials said, a blow to global cotton production in a year when cotton prices have soared as other major producers from the United States to China have been hit with extreme weather.
The floodwaters also threaten to derail Pakistan’s wheat planting season this fall, raising the possibility of continued food shortfalls and price spikes through next year. It is an alarming prospect in a country that depends on its wheat production to feed itself at a time when global wheat supplies are precarious.
“We’re in a very dire situation,” said Rathi Palakrishnan, deputy country director of the World Food Program in Pakistan. “There’s no buffer stocks of wheat, there’s no seeds because farmers have lost them.”
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government, along with the United Nations, has appealed for $160 million in emergency funding to reach 5.2 million of the country’s most vulnerable people.
The scale of the devastation in Pakistan stands out even in a year punctuated by extreme weather, including heat waves across Europe and the United States, intense rain that has drenched parts of Asia and the worst drought to hit East Africa in decades.
Since the start of the monsoon season in Pakistan this summer, more than 1,300 people have died in floods — nearly half of whom are children — and more than 6,000 have been injured, according to the United Nations. Around 33 million people have been displaced. Floodwater now covers around 100,000 square miles — an area larger than the size of Britain — with more floods expected in the coming weeks.
Sindh Province, which produces around a third of the country’s food supply, has been among the hardest hit by the rains. The province received nearly six times its 30-year average rainfall this monsoon season, which has damaged around 50 percent of the province’s crops, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization.
Riaz Haq
@haqsmusings
People Of #Flood-Hit #Pakistan Need #America's Help. #US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has introduced legislation to provide more help to the country that has been devastated by recent #floods. #PakistanFloods #Sindh
--------------------
Pakistan, she said, has been a friend and has helped the US in the evacuation of Afghan refugees; helped in the war on terror, where they lost the Pakistani military in the war on terror.
“And, of course, the huge and very engaging Pakistani diaspora, Pakistani Americans who are both respected and, of course, energised to be collaborative with their government here in the United States to try to save the lives of babies and children, women and men, people who are sick, who need kidney transplants, who can't get their medicine, it is imperative that we rise up to this occasion,” she said.
-------
Asserting that the people of Pakistan need America’s help, a US lawmaker has introduced legislation to provide more help to the country that has been devastated by recent floods.
The cash-strapped nation has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, leaving more than 1,400 dead and 33 million people affected since early June.
A third of the country is submerged in water and one in every seven persons is badly affected by the floods that have led to an estimated USD 12 billion in losses that have left about 78,000 square kilometers (21 million acres) of crops under water.
“The people of Pakistan need our help. The Pakistani Americans have risen to their call. So many in my Congressional district are providing and offering to help send medical care if you will,” Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, co-chair of the Pakistani Congressional Caucus said in her remarks in the House of Representatives.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Jackson-Lee said that it is very important for the US Congress to go on record in recognizing the devastation that the people are facing every single day.
“Would you imagine, even in the trials and tribulations that we have in the United States, that you have populations of people who are isolated by dirty water and that there are people who are living in the outlying areas with no shelter whatsoever,” she said.
“The people are hungry, the lack of food is rising. The pregnant women are fearful for the unbelievable challenges they have in giving birth,” she said.
“Madam Speaker, I am calling upon Congress, as I introduce this legislation dealing with the devastation of the floods in Pakistan, to join me in supporting the legislation and, as well, recognising the dire conditions that our friends in Pakistan are having,” Jackson-Lee said.
Jackson-Lee has just returned from Pakistan after a 10 days visit with the Congressional Pakistan Caucus. “I could see water as far as the eye could see. The devastation is overwhelming: 33 million people displaced, more than 600,000 homeless, but more than that, hungry,” she said.
She thanks the Biden administration for its initial support of the UN fund of USD 30 million and the additional funding of USD 20 million.
“After our briefing in Islamabad and working with the administration, the United States military joined in delivering 300,000 tents,” she said.
“To my colleagues, more is needed. I will be introducing legislation that reflects the delegation's work and, as well, their efforts; and that is, we need additional funding for these devastating conditions,” said the Democratic Congresswoman from Texas.
@haqsmusings
People Of #Flood-Hit #Pakistan Need #America's Help. #US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has introduced legislation to provide more help to the country that has been devastated by recent #floods. #PakistanFloods #Sindh
--------------------
Pakistan, she said, has been a friend and has helped the US in the evacuation of Afghan refugees; helped in the war on terror, where they lost the Pakistani military in the war on terror.
“And, of course, the huge and very engaging Pakistani diaspora, Pakistani Americans who are both respected and, of course, energised to be collaborative with their government here in the United States to try to save the lives of babies and children, women and men, people who are sick, who need kidney transplants, who can't get their medicine, it is imperative that we rise up to this occasion,” she said.
-------
Asserting that the people of Pakistan need America’s help, a US lawmaker has introduced legislation to provide more help to the country that has been devastated by recent floods.
The cash-strapped nation has been struggling with the worst floods in the past 30 years, leaving more than 1,400 dead and 33 million people affected since early June.
A third of the country is submerged in water and one in every seven persons is badly affected by the floods that have led to an estimated USD 12 billion in losses that have left about 78,000 square kilometers (21 million acres) of crops under water.
“The people of Pakistan need our help. The Pakistani Americans have risen to their call. So many in my Congressional district are providing and offering to help send medical care if you will,” Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, co-chair of the Pakistani Congressional Caucus said in her remarks in the House of Representatives.
Speaking on the floor of the House, Jackson-Lee said that it is very important for the US Congress to go on record in recognizing the devastation that the people are facing every single day.
“Would you imagine, even in the trials and tribulations that we have in the United States, that you have populations of people who are isolated by dirty water and that there are people who are living in the outlying areas with no shelter whatsoever,” she said.
“The people are hungry, the lack of food is rising. The pregnant women are fearful for the unbelievable challenges they have in giving birth,” she said.
“Madam Speaker, I am calling upon Congress, as I introduce this legislation dealing with the devastation of the floods in Pakistan, to join me in supporting the legislation and, as well, recognising the dire conditions that our friends in Pakistan are having,” Jackson-Lee said.
Jackson-Lee has just returned from Pakistan after a 10 days visit with the Congressional Pakistan Caucus. “I could see water as far as the eye could see. The devastation is overwhelming: 33 million people displaced, more than 600,000 homeless, but more than that, hungry,” she said.
She thanks the Biden administration for its initial support of the UN fund of USD 30 million and the additional funding of USD 20 million.
“After our briefing in Islamabad and working with the administration, the United States military joined in delivering 300,000 tents,” she said.
“To my colleagues, more is needed. I will be introducing legislation that reflects the delegation's work and, as well, their efforts; and that is, we need additional funding for these devastating conditions,” said the Democratic Congresswoman from Texas.
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