The well-known components of a warming world were present: sweltering heat, hotter air holding more moisture, wilder extreme weather, melting glaciers, vulnerable populations, and poverty.
In Pakistan, a fragile country, they combined to produce relentless rain and fatal flooding.
Though the flooding has all the signs of a disaster fueled by climate change, it is too soon to formally blame it on it, according to numerous scientists who spoke to The Associated Press. It happened in a nation that contributed little to global warming but continues to be struck, much like the constant rain.
‘This year Pakistan has received the highest rainfall in at least three decades. So far this year the rain is running at more than 780% above average levels,’ said Abid Qaiyum Suleri, executive director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute and a member of Pakistan’s Climate Change Council.
‘Extreme weather patterns are turning more frequent in the region and Pakistan is not a exception.’
While pointing out these well-known signs of climate change, scientists have not yet completed the complex calculations comparing what occurred in Pakistan to what would occur in a world without warming.
The results of that study, which are anticipated in a few weeks, will formally establish how much, if any, climate change is a factor.
Post Your Comments