What Are the Primary Causes of Pakistan's Floods in 2022?

 What Are the Primary Causes of Pakistan's Floods in 2022?

In Pakistan, the monsoon season began in the latter week of June 2022. Pakistan has seen 60% of its typical annual monsoon rainfall in just three weeks from the start of the season. In Pakistan, heavy rains have resulted in landslides, urban and flash floods, and Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOF), particularly in Baluchistan, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and Sindh. Pakistan is currently facing its worst floods this century, with rivers spilling their banks, flash flooding, and bursting glacial lakes. A third or more of the nation is submerged. 

According to researchers, the disaster was most likely triggered by unprecedented heat waves. Temperatures in numerous areas exceeded 40 degrees Celsius for extended periods in April and May. Jacobabad reached 51 degrees Celsius on one scorching May day. "These were not ordinary heatwaves; they were the worst in history." "In Pakistan, we had the hottest area on Earth," says Malik Amin Aslam, the country's former climate change minister located in Islamabad.

More moisture may be held in warmer air. Meteorologists warned earlier this year that the extreme temperatures would almost certainly result in "above normal" rain levels during the country's monsoon season, which runs from July to September, according to Zia Hashmi, a water-resources engineer at the Global Change Impact Studies Centre in Islamabad, speaking in his personal capacity.

Flooding Disasters in Pakistan in 2022

Since the last Weekly Regional Humanitarian Snapshot, the number of damaged and
destroyed dwellings in Pakistan has quadrupled, with about 950,000 houses impacted as of August 27. Since last week, the number of damaged/destroyed houses in Sindh has more than tripled (to over 807,000 households) and has more than doubled in Baluchistan (to almost 61,500 houses) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (to nearly 61,500 houses) (to over 33,200 houses). More than 46,300 dwellings have been damaged or destroyed in Punjab, an increase of 18,500 from a week ago. A Floods Response Plan has been designed to supplement the overall government response, with the goal of assisting about 5.2 million flood-affected individuals over the next six months. 

The Government of Pakistan has classified eight additional districts as "calamity stricken," raising the total to 80. Over 1.1 million dwellings have been damaged or destroyed as of now. In the previous week, 1,600 kilometers of road in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been damaged or destroyed. More than 1,200 individuals have been reported to have perished as a result of the extreme weather, including 244 women, 526 men, and 416 children.

In the last 24 hours, 24 people have perished and 115 have been injured as a result of monsoon rains that have affected the majority of Pakistan. As of September 4, more than 1,300 people had perished and more than 12,700 had been wounded, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Furthermore, almost 632,000 people have been evacuated, and over 33 million people have been impacted, the majority of them in Sindh and Baluchistan Province. (ECHO, September 5, 2022)