Unprecedented Monsoon Rains and Floods
Unprecedented torrential rains taking place in Pakistan between June and August, 2022, led to the worst floods ever experienced in the country. Large-scale floods resulted in river-overflows and landslides which ravaged large parts of the country's provinces and districts. About 94 districts had been declared as "calamity hit," as of October, 2022 (MPDSI, 2022). According to the latest National Disaster Management Authority's (NDMA, 2022) report, more than 33 million people were directly affected by the monsoon floods, with close to 10 million people affected in the province of Balochistan and about 15 million people in Sindh province.
As of November, 2022, there have been more than 1,700 deaths and almost 13,000 injuries related to the flood, as well as over 8 million people displaced (NDMA, 2022; MPDSI, 2022). The floods also destroyed and damaged millions of homes, as well as critical infrastructure (energy grid, etc.), roads, agricultural crops and yields, livestock, among other impacts in key sectors. It is estimated that the summer monsoon rains and floods resulted in approximately $15 billion in damage (MPDSI, 2022).
The unprecedented monsoon rainfalls and floods are part of a larger trend of exacerbated weather patterns due to climate change. Similar to other regional countries, Pakistan is experiencing increasing precipitation and temperatures, more frequent and severe tropical storms, coastal rains, glacial melt, large-scale floods, loss of biodiversity, drought, and other prominent extreme weather conditions (MPDSI, 2022).
Pakistan: A Geographic View
- Pakistan population: 237,588,996 (fifth-most populous
- country in the world)
- Total area: 881,912 km2
- 6 administrative divisions (provinces)
- Capital territory: Islamabad
- Himalayan Mountains (Western sections)
- Indus River and tributaries
- Different regional climates:
- High humidity in coastal areas
- Extremely cold winters in North-Western Himalayas
- Hot summers in the Indus Valley plains
- Monsoon rains in late summer
Territory dispute after Pakistani independence from the British Empire:
- Pakistan administered territories:
- Gilgit Baltistan
- Azad Kashmir
- India administered territories:
- Jammu and Kashmir
- China administered territories:
- Aksai Chin
- Pakistan and India claim:
- Siachen glacier
Significant Impacts, Damage and Losses
- Fifth-most populous country in the world
- 169 districts within Pakistan
- Current growth rate: 1.91%
- Population projected to surpass 245 million people by 2030, and 300 million people by 2050.
- Cities with more than one million residents:
- Karachi: 11,624,219 people (7th most populated city in the world)
- Lahore: 6,310,888 people
- Faisalabad: 2,506,595
- Rawalpindi: 1,743,101
- Multan: 1,437,230
- Hyderabad: 1,386,330
- Gujranwala: 1,384,471
- Peshawar: 1,218,773
People Affected by Monsoon Floods in Pakistan, 2022
- 94 districts had been declared as "calamity hit" by October, 2022
- 19 out of the 25 poorest districts were “calamity hit”
- More than 33 million people directly affected by the moonson rains and floods
- Close to 15 million people affected in Sindh province
- Close to 10 million people affected in Balochistan province
- About 8 million people displaced
- More than 1,700 deaths reported
- More than 13,000 injuries reported
- Close to $15 billion in damages to housing, health, education, energy and infrastructure sectors
- More than $15 billion losses in food and agriculture, water resources, tourism and commerce and industries
Significant Impacts, Damage and Losses
Damage to houses and infrastructure (Reliefweb Report, 2022):
- More than 700,000 houses destroyed
- More than 1.3 million houses damaged
- About 40% of all 410 bridges in Pakistan were damaged or destroyed
- Road damage by province: about 64% in Sindh, 17% in Balochistan and 12% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Impacts to agriculture, livestock and ecosystems (Reliefweb Report, 2022):
- More than one million livestock killed
- About 9.4 million acres of crops were inundated
- Large amounts of debris around the country
- Impacts on forests, wetlands and other ecosystems
Human health and other impacts (Reliefweb, 2022):
- More than 64,000 confirmed dengue fever cases, and about 1,000 cholera cases About
- 1.85 million people are still displaced and living in makeshift camps
- About 1.1 million people in deteriorating emergency food insecurity
- Extensive livelihood impacts to those able to return home
