This past summer, the global community has witnessed extreme climate change all across the globe. Intense and long-lasting heat waves have left parts of Europe in a drought, with large-scale fires breaking out in several regions. However, this pales in comparison to what Pakistan has endured these past few months. 

While countries like China, the United States, India and Russia are the biggest polluters, it is often vulnerable countries, like Pakistan, that experience the biggest climate backlash. To begin, Pakistan experienced a record-breaking heatwave during March, which resulted in drought across several regions in Pakistan, further damaging crops and drying up vital rivers and lakes. The added danger of droughts is that they cause the ground to harden, preventing soil from readily absorbing water. As the monsoon season began in July, the conditions of the land created the prime environment to lead to extreme flooding. 

This was further coupled by an unprecedented monsoon season, with a 30 year record-breaking rain, coupled with intense melting of glacial lakes that further flooded rivers and inundated 80% of the country. “Usually, there are three or four cycles of monsoons, here we are up to seven to eight.  The cumulative effect is totally devastating,” notes David Annequin, head of the emergency unit of Doctors of the World. While the numbers are expected to be much higher, the cost of this flood is already devastating. Over 1,200 are reported dead and 3,500 are injured, with nearly 33 million people affected by the floods. A million homes have been destroyed and over 6.4 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, today. 

Unfortunately, more rain and further flooding is predicted, as the monsoon season has not yet come to an end. With flooding, a whole array of problems will surely arise like famine, lack of shelter, an overwhelmed healthcare system, and water/mosquito-borne diseases like malaria, cholera and dysentery. Pakistan has appealed for international assistance and declared a state of emergency on August 26 to deal with the disaster. It is vital that the international community respond and coordinate with Pakistan to effectively help the populations affected.

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