Floods Expose Pakistan’s Climate Vulnerability and Governance Failures

Floods are a sign of serious damage.
Riyaz Abro
Last summer’s floods in Pakistan sent a clear and dire message that a changing climate will bring more devastation in the future. The UN’s 2023 annual report on climate and environment warned that some areas would suffer from water shortages during the monsoons, and that some areas would be hit by major flooding again this year. A national emergency was declared last August after massive flooding, landslides, and monsoon rains left a third of the country underwater. Millions of people were displaced. The UN hosted an international conference on climate change in Geneva on January 9, 2023, to consider various options for addressing the consequences of a changing climate around the world. Citing various UN-sponsored studies, the report described the continued warming of the planet as a major threat and lamented humanity’s failure. In addition, the report also emphasized the need to reduce the use of fossil fuels to reduce carbon emissions and tackle the climate emergency, as developing countries are more prone to droughts, floods, and extreme weather. The UN report cited a study by the World Meteorological Organization that showed that heat waves will increase in the 2060s. According to the WMO, the heat is linked to human activities, which have increased the risk of cold weather due to a changing climate. The UN report also cited the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin, which details the three main gases carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane, which have seen their biggest annual jump in 40 years. It sees human activities as a key factor in climate change. So, given all the evidence, there is an urgent need for a shift to a low-carbon economy. The world’s major economies are now blaming the war in Ukraine for an energy crisis, as it is becoming increasingly difficult to restart old power plants and find new oil and gas reserves. In response, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reminded rich nations that if they had invested in renewable energy in the past, they could have avoided the volatility of fossil fuel market prices. In another statement, Mr. Guterres compared the behavior of the fossil fuel industry to the activities of the big tobacco companies in the 20th century. Because tobacco is as destructive as fossil fuels. There is also a strong case for setting aside the cost of gas and electricity for domestic use and the climate process. Last July, the UN General Assembly declared that the need for a clean and healthy environment is a universal human right. Mr. Guterres expressed hope that this historic meeting would help reduce environmental injustices, narrow the protection gap, and empower people to cope with environmental disasters. The UN report also noted that a funding mechanism was established at the UN climate conference in Egypt last November to compensate vulnerable nations for the losses caused by climate disasters, as these vulnerable nations have been facing such disasters for decades, and that it would be a major step forward in helping poor countries in need. However, it also pledged to phase out non-fossil fuels to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Flash floods and monsoon rains have caused havoc in flood-affected areas. In which seasonal fever, dengue, malaria, and diarrhea are widespread, because the ongoing rains in a large part of the country and the resulting floods are an example of the spread of epidemics, which no single institution can cope with. The need is for the entire nation to come together, but our leaders are seen running in different directions. For example, in the 2022 floods, the then Prime Minister was seen dropping food parcels from a helicopter in the flood-affected areas of Sindh. Another video showed Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto, along with Shahbaz Sharif, going to a relief camp in Sukkur. To be honest, these leaders were late in the work because there had been heavy rain for three to four weeks. They will have to explain why the army was called in to help after so many days and why it was not called in earlier. Also, while the whole country knows how rich some of our political leaders are, they do not spend a single rupee from their own pockets and are now and then appealing for donations. Although they can quietly donate funds. If they feel that it is a good thing to meet the flood-affected people and send food parcels to those trapped in the water, they should also donate from their own pockets so that other rich people in the society can also set an example.
The major political parties of the country and the government itself urged international organizations to provide timely assistance, because the destruction in the flood-affected areas is extensive, it will take months to restore the systems there and the livelihood of those who have lost their sources of employment, who were in the business of “آڻين ۽ چاڙهين ڏٿ ڏهاڙي سومرا”, is becoming difficult, because the flash flood only affected those who were slum dwellers, while the rest of the urban and fixed population were left without water and their struggles were not seen. But those whose standing crops were destroyed, due to which the country will face inflation on the one hand and a shortage of grain on the other, until the Rabi crops come again, which will burden the economy for the next six months, for which the government will have to write off monthly utility bills. Let people go back to their businesses, industries, lands, and livelihoods. More importantly, dams will not be built to meet the challenges of rainfall and climate change. If the Sutlej and Ravi are flooded, then dams will be built on the Indus to the west, or if it rains in Karachi, dams will be built in Punjab. But the natural courses of the rivers should be restored, because Punjab has paved the riverbanks, in the rivers have taken the form of canals. We have not encroached on riveral areas, which are still “Kacha”, due to which some savings are made, and on top of that, the protective dams are also sufficient to protect their “Kacha”, which Punjab should also manage so that the rainwater is drained.
Another fact that must be acknowledged is that the Ravi and Sutlej areas are plains in which no dam can be built now, and another fact is that India has already built many dams on them. When they foresee a disaster, they open the gates of the dams and flood Punjab, which we will always call water terrorism. In the modern era, destruction cannot be done only with guns; sometimes, climate change also burns countries to ashes, from which even countries like America and Australia do not dare to save themselves. Sometimes fires and tsunamis destroy California and Hawaii, and the forests of Australia burn. In their place, we are once again a country whose economy and system are fragile, which will not be able to withstand a single blow. But in saying that, we are a nuclear power, which can also shoot down the Rafales of India and Israel. Now, due to climate change, the natural river channels will have to be restored, and due to population growth, such areas should be developed where “vertical” development is possible, because horizontal (spread) development will erode the land and block the river channels, due to which countries like ours will have to face financial and human losses every year. Secondly, it is necessary to release water in the delta, because the developed countries of the world have alternative energy sources; they are struggling to generate electricity from hydroelectricity, solar energy, and waste, but we still have strong faith in “hydel” electricity, which is not possible, so the government should take timely steps to avoid destruction.