Pakistan: Number of people killed by monsoon rains triples

Since the beginning of July, the number of deaths due to torrential monsoon rains in Pakistan has tripled compared to the same period last year, with the death toll exceeding 700 people, including 173 children.

According to the National Disaster Management Authority, Pakistan has already recorded 50 percent more rainfall than the same period last year during the monsoon season , which peaks between June and September, and further rainfall is expected.

More than 300 people have died in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa since August 15 , after cloudbursts – a rare weather phenomenon in which more than 100 mm of rain falls in an hour in a highly concentrated area – triggered heavy downpours and flash floods.

According to preliminary data from provincial authorities, approximately 60 schools have been damaged or destroyed in the province, potentially impacting the education of approximately 8,000 children when classes begin in late August.

This year's monsoon season has wreaked havoc across Asia. Research by Save the Children found that if global temperature rise were limited to 1.5°C, approximately 5 million children born in 2020 would be spared unprecedented exposure to river flooding. Despite having contributed least to the climate crisis, children are bearing the brunt, particularly those most affected by inequality and discrimination in low- and middle-income countries like Pakistan.

Families in the devastated districts told Save the Children that children are waking up crying at night, worried about a repeat of the floods. An assessment of immediate needs revealed that clean water is scarce, and young children are suffering from diarrhea. Parents reported having reduced their meals due to food shortages. "We've lost our crops and our animals... there's nothing left to sell or eat," one man told the research team.

Save the Children in Pakistan and its partner in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Sarhad Rural Support Programme, are working to provide lifesaving aid, including household and hygiene kits, clean water, and mobile health and nutrition clinics and temporary, safe learning spaces for children unable to return to their damaged schools. Many roads have been blocked by landslides, disrupting communications and hampering relief efforts.

More than 2,900 homes have been damaged or destroyed across Pakistan since the start of the monsoon season in the last week of June, and more than 29,000 people are currently living in emergency camps.

Children in Pakistan are once again losing their lives, homes, and schools to floods. In 2022, when nearly 1,700 people died in historic floods, we said “never again,” but climate change is making deaths and disasters from extreme rainfall an annual reality. Children and their families have had little or no time to pack, run, or reach higher ground to escape the rapid flooding caused by unpredictable storms in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Now, thousands of people need shelter, clean water, and food as the monsoon rains continue. We must act immediately to ensure that the immediate impacts of torrential rains do not become long-term problems. Governments must address the root causes of these climate-induced disasters, including by targeting funding and support for children and their families in Pakistan to help them adapt, recover and rebuild their lives and livelihoods,” said Khuram Gondal, Save the Children’s Country Director in Pakistan.

AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad/LaPresse

Tags:
• climate change
• Minors
• Pakistan