ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday said Pakistan was facing the challenge of climate change and stressed the need for addressing the problem of flash flooding from the same perspective.
Flooding has battered Sindh and Balochistan since the onset of heavy monsoon rains a month ago, affecting a wide central belt.
More than 330 people have died in the two provinces. Since June 14, the downpours have damaged bridges, roads and about 4,000 homes in Balochistan, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
“Our ongoing floods and torrential rains need to be seen from [climate] angle,” Sharif said in a tweet.
Climate change is an undeniable reality of our times & has serious consequences for developing countries like Pakistan. Our ongoing floods & torrential rains need to be seen from that angle. The government is aligning its development goals with the climate change requirements.
— Shehbaz Sharif (@CMShehbaz) July 28, 2022
He mentioned that climate change was a reality that was greatly impacting Pakistan. “Climate change is an undeniable reality of our times and has serious consequences for developing countries like Pakistan.”
The prime minister said the government was aligning its development goals with the requirements of climate change.
Pakistan has been experiencing an unprecedented heat wave and a series of extreme climate events ranging from flash floods to forest fires.
The country has long ranked among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which tracks the devastating human and economic toll of extreme weather events.
To address the issue, the vision of the government is to mainstream climate change in the vulnerable sectors of the economy and to steer Pakistan towards climate resilient development.
