Pakistan’s climate crisis a wake-up call

When the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres visited Pakistan early this month, he was taken aback.

The top officer of the international organisation was speechless when he saw the current state of Pakistan, as the country has been rocked by torrential floods which affected 30 million Pakistani people. This thus makes the country hosting the worst displaced person crisis ever.

At the port of Karachi as Guterres visited the flood-ravaged Pakistan, he remarked that “I have seen many humanitarian disasters in the world, but I have never seen climate carnage on this scale”.

Indeed, Pakistan’s monsoon season started a bit early this year than it usually does. However, no one could ever imagine the state of ‘super floods’ would be in this state which has submerged a third of the country and caused colossal damage to public utilities such as roads, homes, rail networks, bridges, and the like.

This catastrophe has also caused significant damage to Mohenjo Daro, a 4,500-year-old archaeological site, located in the southern part of Pakistan, which has been designated as UNESCO’s World Heritage Site.

Pakistan’s disaster flood is one example of many other extreme weather events across the globe.

A report released by the United In Science stated that the world now is seeing an increase in greenhouse gas concentrations, with fossil-fuel emission rates now recorded more than the pre-pandemic levels, after a significant drop, especially during the pandemic’s lockdown.

Even the World Meteorological Organization reported that “The ambition of emissions reduction pledges for 2030 needs to be seven times higher to be in line with the 1.5oC goal of the Paris Agreement.”

Despite this, Pakistan as a country that only accounts for less than 1 percent of global carbon emissions but ranks eighth as the most vulnerable to climate change, according to the Global Risk Index 2021, is now paying the heavy price of a climate crisis.

Pakistan now is struggling to back to normalcy as this monsoon misery threats millions facing acute starvation and diseases such as malaria and dengue cases.

Its state of economy is unstable too, with its Minister of Finance Miftah Ismail mentioned that it is estimated that the country is facing a total loss of $10 billion amid continuing economic crisis, while fear soars the figure could further rise.

Indeed, Pakistan's disaster floods have unleashed a brutal humanitarian storm, testing the world's support for the country which has fueled the climate crisis worldwide.

A key question looms as to how can international community support countries that are more susceptible to the compound effects of climate change.

And to be sure, other countries should take deep lessons from Pakistan’s recent deluge.

Closer to home, of all climate change disasters e.g. droughts, flooding, and heatwaves appear to be the top concerns in the Southeast Asia region.

Take the Tonle Sap lake, which is located in Cambodia and part of the stream of the Mekong river for instance. This 2,700 sq km lake – the world’s most productive freshwater fisheries and teeming with fish is now buckling under the weight of climate change.

Its water levels fluctuate, and surrounding wetlands started to dry up and lessening of fishes’ habitats. As the lake provides economic lifelines to the people, many who depend on the lake are finding it difficult to meet their ends, especially the fishermen.

The prolonged drought in the Mekong River has also been a direct threat to the food security in the region.

Any impact on the river could be devastating to the people who live off and from it, as the river is known as Asia’s rich bowl as it nourishes the wetlands surrounding it.

Droughts affect the farm crop yields and animals, which hit the farmers hard.

Vietnam once declared a state of emergency for the five provinces that produce half of the country’s crop, following the fall of the Mekong water levels.

As the water levels fluctuate, there are reports that heavy flooding occurred annually and it is estimated that more than 700 deaths were recorded between 2005 and 2020 in Tonle Sap lake.

Indeed, Pakistan’s deluge serves as a wake-up call for Southeast Asian countries.

All relevant stakeholders, ranging from governments, businesses, and individuals are equally responsible for tackling climate change, which impact has reverberated across the region.

Priority must be given to both mitigation and adaptation measures to address the threats of climate change in the region. And perhaps one could deeply reflect on Guterres’ warning, “Today is Pakistan, tomorrow could be yours.”

Nik Luqman Wan Zainoddin is an analyst and freelance writer focused on Southeast Asia. Previously he was attached to IKMAS UKM-Nippon Foundation as a research fellow. He tweets @NLuqman

The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect those of Sinar Daily.