Speaking to Dawn.com, climate change and sustainable development expert Masood Lohar termed the floods in the eastern rivers — Sutlej, Ravi and Beas — “unusual”.

He said that a similar situation also persists in the western rivers, as the water level in Chenab has reached 1 million cusecs, which again is “very unusual”.

This, Lohar noted, poses a high risk to several areas in Punjab, particularly those located downstream, including Lahore, Bahawalpur, Sialkot, and Kasur. “Infrastructure, agricultural land and even entire cities can be wiped off,” he warned, adding that such a situation has never been seen before because water has even entered the previously abandoned riverbeds.

Furthermore, he pointed out that it was wrong to call these floods “water terrorism” by India because the neighbouring country was itself impacted. “We have seen cloudbursts, glacial lake outbursts and massive floods in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand and other areas of India.”