Pakistan | The “rainiest” April since 1961

(Islamabad) If a large part of Asia is experiencing an unprecedented heat wave, Pakistan has just experienced its “rainiest April since 1961”, with temperatures almost a degree lower than in the habit.

As is often the case in the country, the fifth most populous in the world and one of the most exposed to extreme weather phenomena, experts and meteorologists point the finger at climate change.

The poor South Asian country keeps repeating that its 240 million people (around 3% of the world’s population) are responsible for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Many are now worried in Pakistan: the April rains have already killed at least 144 people, including dozens of children when their houses collapsed in torrential rains. But the monsoon, with its share of floods, flash floods and damage, is due to arrive in July and will last until September.

In addition to flooding, the country has also been hit by deadly heatwaves and some of the worst air pollution in the world, all phenomena whose impact is compounded, experts say, by a lack of infrastructure and poor governance.

In April, precipitation reached “59.3 millimeters”, well beyond the usual average of 22.5 millimeters, details a report from the meteorological services published late Friday.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, saw the largest increase in the country. There, note the meteorological services, precipitation was four and a half times higher than seasonal norms.

The heaviest human toll, with 84 deaths including 38 children, was however recorded in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in the northwest bordering Afghanistan, where 3,500 homes were damaged.

“Unpredictable weather”

And while from the Philippines to Burma via India, millions of people are suffocating under an unprecedented heat wave, Pakistan has seen its monthly average temperature drop to 23.67 degrees, compared to the usual 24.54, continues the report.

For Zaheer Ahmad Babar, spokesperson for the meteorological services, climate change explains this unusual month.

“Climate change is an important factor influencing unpredictable weather trends in our region,” he told AFP.

In 2022, the poor South Asian country suffered devastating floods that affected nearly a third of its territory and affected more than 33 million people, leaving more than 1,700 dead.

In parts of Punjab, the country’s most populous province and grain basket, harvests have suffered recently from heavy rains and hail.

“Flash floods caused significant damage to large areas of crops, particularly wheat, which was ready to be harvested,” the UN agency OCHA said in a recent report.

“This has led to significant economic losses for farmers and villages.”

“We witness events linked to climate change almost every year. And yet we are still not prepared for it,” notes lawyer and environmental activist Ahmad Rafay Alam.

Responsibility for climate “lies with our provincial and federal governments, but they prioritize political issues,” he says.

If Pakistan is currently suffering from high rainfall, at the beginning of April, Islamabad announced that it was facing a water shortage of around 30% compared to its needs at the start of the planting season for rice and cotton.

The authorities pointed to less winter snowfall than usual in the northern glacier region.

More than a year and a half later, underlines the UN, nearly 10 million children still needed humanitarian aid to survive in areas affected by the torrential rains which washed away everything in 2022.

For UNICEF, “Pakistani children are caught in a vicious cycle of drought and flood”.

“From conception to adulthood, the development of children’s brains, lungs and immune systems is affected by their environment,” continues UNICEF, which is concerned for an entire generation.

“The risks they face due to climate change are considered extremely high,” warns the UN agency.