ONCE again, extreme weather has upended life in parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Torrential rain, flash floods and isolated snowfall in Swat, Bajaur, Khyber etc have brought home the looming spectre of climate change. On Tuesday, the second day the province has been battered by the downpour, a woman lost her life while two others, including a minor, were injured in calamity-related incidents. Nine houses were destroyed and 14 partially damaged. A village in Swat, along with neighbouring hamlets, was cut off when a bridge leading to the area was swept away by flash flooding.

Climate change is inexorably bearing down on Pakistan, one of the nations most affected by the global phenomenon. Extreme weather events seem to have become almost routine. Last year, at least 16 people were killed in the province when heavy monsoon rains triggered flash floods. Warmer than usual temperatures are accelerating the melting of glaciers, which can lead to glacial lake outburst flooding, or GLOF, sending millions of cubic feet of water crashing into human habitation. A report by the Ministry of Climate Change last year revealed that 33 out of a total of 3,044 glacial lakes are susceptible to GLOF. For mountain communities in the north of the country, the devastation caused by GLOF as well as torrential downpours is exacerbated by deforestation. Hillsides denuded of vegetation cannot break the momentum of the water rushing down the slopes, bearing with it not only tons of loose soil, but also huge boulders. Infrastructure such as wooden water mills is destroyed; damage is caused to micro-hydro plants and roads, thus causing a domino effect on various aspects of life. Prime Minister Imran Khan, through the Billion Tree Tsunami project — which has now expanded to the Ten Billion Tree Tsunami project — has brought a sense of urgency to the importance of increasing Pakistan’s rapidly shrinking forest cover. Along with this, the need of the hour is to enhance early warning systems and community-based disaster-risk management in vulnerable areas.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2021