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Since June of 2022 the rains over there have impacted 15% of the 225 million people of Pakistan who have lost their crops, belongings and homes leaving one third of Pakistan’s land underwater. The five following points are the most important:
1. These are the heaviest and most treacherous rains in Pakistan in 150 years.
On the frontlines of the climate crisis, Pakistan is home to some of the most affected people and areas (MAPA). Despite its capital city housing nearly 15 million people (almost double the size of New York’s population), more than 60% of Pakistanis live in rural areas, depending on the land for their food and livelihoods. Around 90% of agricultural land in the areas where Concern works in Pakistan are currently submerged.
“It has also been reported that over 720,000 animal livestock have perished,” says Khan, who adds that “all these numbers are still very under-reported, since there are areas where there is still no accessibility and where all communication lines, including cellular network and internet connectivity, are down.”
As noted above, the UN estimates approximately 2 million acres of crops and orchards have been damaged or destroyed, with over half of those acres (1.54 million) located in Sindh province. An additional 304,000 acres in Balochistan and 178,000 acres in Punjab have also been affected. This could potentially increase Pakistan’s silent food crisis. According to the 2021 Global Hunger Index, it ranks 92nd out of 116 countries for indicators of hunger, including over 20% of the population undernourished. The country is also facing rising food prices.
“ALL THESE NUMBERS ARE STILL VERY UNDER-REPORTED, SINCE THERE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE IS STILL NO ACCESSIBILITY AND WHERE ALL COMMUNICATION LINES, INCLUDING CELLULAR NETWORK AND INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, ARE DOWN.”—SHERZADA KHAN, ACTING COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR CONCERN PAKISTAN
2. Nearly half of the country is in the state of emergency
It’s important to note the scope and size of these floods, as well as their connection to the climate crisis. Pakistani senator and Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman called the monsoon floods “a serious climate catastrophe.” What’s more, 72 of the country’s 160 districts have been declared “calamity-hit” by the government, which has also declared a national emergency.
Some regions have been hit harder than others. In Sindh province, rainfall has exceeded the 30-year average by 5.7 times. Balochistan province has seen more than five times its 30-year average rainfall in the last three months. This is especially worrisome, as Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reports that Balochistan is not usually affected by monsoon season.
3. Pakistan is a key MAPA community on the frontlines of the climate crisis
On the frontlines of the climate crisis, Pakistan is home to some of the most affected people and areas (MAPA). Despite its capital city housing nearly 15 million people (almost double the size of New York’s population), more than 60% of Pakistanis live in rural areas, depending on the land for their food and livelihoods. Around 90% of agricultural land in the areas where Concern works in Pakistan are currently submerged.
“It has also been reported that over 720,000 animal livestock have perished,” says Khan, who adds that “all these numbers are still very under-reported, since there are areas where there is still no accessibility and where all communication lines, including cellular network and internet connectivity, are down.”
As noted above, the UN estimates approximately 2 million acres of crops and orchards have been damaged or destroyed, with over half of those acres (1.54 million) located in Sindh province. An additional 304,000 acres in Balochistan and 178,000 acres in Punjab have also been affected. This could potentially increase Pakistan’s silent food crisis. According to the 2021 Global Hunger Index, it ranks 92nd out of 116 countries for indicators of hunger, including over 20% of the population undernourished. The country is also facing rising food prices.
“ALL THESE NUMBERS ARE STILL VERY UNDER-REPORTED, SINCE THERE ARE AREAS WHERE THERE IS STILL NO ACCESSIBILITY AND WHERE ALL COMMUNICATION LINES, INCLUDING CELLULAR NETWORK AND INTERNET CONNECTIVITY, ARE DOWN.”—SHERZADA KHAN, ACTING COUNTRY DIRECTOR FOR CONCERN PAKISTAN
The monsoons are just one of the current climate crisis in Pakistan
As many reports have noted in the last few weeks, the monsoons are just one of the sources of flooding in Pakistan. Minister Rehman notes that Pakistan has the highest number of glaciers outside of the polar region. Warming in the Himalayas, however, has led to many of these glaciers melting, leaving to flash floods. “Instead of keeping their majesty and preserving them for posterity and nature,” Rehman says, “we are seeing them melt.”
On the flip side, Pakistan has also seen some of the highest temperatures on record in recent year. Last July, temperatures in the Sindh city of Jacobabad (which New York Times author Fatima Bhutto called the hottest city in Asia, if not the world) exceeded 126º F, “too severe for human tolerance.” The World Bank calls the capital city of Karachi (also in Sindh) another “climate hot spot,” estimating an increase in climate events—and their destruction—in the coming years.
The current crises is not just about climate change
That all said, some of the issues relating to the high impact of these monsoon floods go beyond the climate crisis. The floods, as Concern’s Regional Director for Asia, Lucia Ennis, explains, “come at a time when Pakistan was already trying to cope with one of the worst economic crises in its history, with high inflation and food and fuel prices rocketing.” The country is also still facing the COVID-19 pandemic, which means that displacement caused by the floods could lead to a spike in cases.
Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and member of Pakistan’s Climate Change Council, adds that the country has suffered a lack of disaster risk reduction following previous disasters. “Pakistan saw similar flooding and devastation in 2010 that killed nearly 2,000 people,” he said in a recent interview with the AP. “But the government didn’t implement plans to prevent future flooding by preventing construction and homes in flood prone areas and river beds.”
Delivering humanitarian aid in Pakistan has also historically been a challenge. When an emergency hits, it can be difficult to know which organizations in the country are legitimate and able to use funding to help those who need it most. Meanwhile, time is of the essence in an emergency response. Grants can often take months (if not years) to be delivered.
At a party or at a schoolyard, the question of the favorite color’s answer usaually is the color blue. Why are humans so fond of this perticular color? And why is it so rare in nature and animals? We researched all these questions and came to a conclusion that blue pigment is rare at least because it is difficult for plants to produce. They only have evolved to do so when they have a benefit, as this color attracts bees or other insects that could be used for pollination. We also found out that scarcity of blue flowers is partly due to the limits of our own eyes. From the bee’s perspective, bluish flowers are way more common.
The ancient Egyptians were fascinated with blue flowers, like the blue lotus and got into great trouble to decorate objects in this color. They used an entrancing pigment (currently known as Egyptian blue) to color vases and jewellery, and semi-precious blue gems, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise to decorate their important artifacts for example the Mask of Tutankhamun.
Blue dye for fabric is now very common but it’s bases lie in ancient Peru, where an indigo dye was used to color cotton about 6000 years ago. The Indigo blue dyes reached the continent of Europe from the Indian subcontinent in the 16th century and the dyes and the plants that produced them became important commodities. Their influence on human fashion and culture are still felt in the modern world or the
21st century, most obviously in blue jeans and shirts.
Renaissance painters in the continent of Europe used ground lapis lazuli to produce dazzling works of arts that captivated their audiences. Today, many blues are created with modern pigment or optical effects. The famous blue/gold dress photo that went viral in 2015 not only confirms that blue can still fascinate, it also highlights that color is just as much product of our perception as it is of certain wave lengths of light.
Why are humans so fond of this color? Color preferences in humans are often influenced by important enviornmental factors.
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