At least 143 people died in April in Pakistan due to rainfall, with the amount of rain falling over the past month being two and a half times higher than usual, local authorities announced on Tuesday (April 30). Torrential rains caused flash floods and collapsed homes.
The volume of rain exceeded “164% above normal levels in April, which is very unusual”Zaheer Ahmad Babar, spokesperson for the Pakistan Meteorological Service, told Agence France-Presse (AFP). “These irregular precipitation patterns [sont] a direct consequence of climate change »he added.
Pakistan, the fifth most populous country in the world with 240 million inhabitants, is among the most threatened by climate change. It is increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, and the monsoon, which normally arrives in early July, is often destructive.
The heaviest toll, with 83 deaths, concerns the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the northwest of the country, where 3,500 homes were damaged. “Roof collapse and landslides caused the deaths of the victims”Anwar Shahzad, spokesperson for the provincial disaster management authority, told AFP.
Agriculture must adapt
In Punjab, the most populous province and grain basket of this poor South Asian country, hailstorms destroyed wheat harvests, a staple food for the population.
Pakistani agriculture must adapt to this new seasonality, believes Maryam Shabbir Abbasi, an expert on environmental issues. “We should modify our calendars accordingly [de plantations et de récoltes] to avoid the damage caused by this unprecedented precipitation »she explains to AFP.
Twenty-one people were killed in Punjab in April, according to provincial authorities, including farmers struck by lightning while harvesting wheat. In Balochistan, in the southwest of the country, at least twenty-one people died, including seven struck by lightning, and schools had to be temporarily closed. Finally, fourteen people died in Pakistani Kashmir (North) and at least four were killed in road accidents caused by flooded roads in the Sindh province (South).
In the summer of 2022, unprecedented floods submerged a third of the country, affecting more than 33 million people and killing more than 1,700 people.