Associated Press of Pakistan covers the ghastly repetition of floods in that soaked country: A weather scientist on Friday blamed climate change for the unprecedented torrential monsoon rains in Sindh that have caused severe flooding in 20 out of 22 districts in Sindh province.Advisor, Climate Affairs and Vice-President World Meteorological Organization Asia Region, Dr. Qamar uz Zaman Chaudhry here said: “If we look at the frequency and the trend of the extreme weather events happening in Pakistan during the last two decades, then it is easy to find its linkage with climate change, as definitely we cannot explain present Sindh floods under natural climate variability.”The pattern of recent extreme weather events in Pakistan shows clear indication of increased frequency and intensity of such events in Pakistan, which is in line with the Inter Governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) projections, he added.According to him the floods have affected 4.9 million people and damaged about 1 million houses and 199 persons have died. Dr Qamar, who is also the lead author and architect of the country’s first Draft National Climate Change Policy, said that Pakistan is surely heading for increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, which includes frequent floods and droughts.
“We need to adapt and plan for that,” he said and added, the formulation of Draft National Climate Change Policy is the first right step in this direction.
He said that Pakistan needs to seek assistance from the recently established “Green Climate Fund” for implementing climate change Adaptation Action Plan to meet the global climate change challenges impacting Pakistan.
He said the rains in Sindh are the highest ever recorded monsoon rains during the four weeks period. Sindh this year received 270% & 1170 % above normal monsoon rains respectively in August and September....
A satellite image from NASA of Pakistan's 2010 flooding, which is repeating itself this year in the province of Sindh
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