Pakistan has suffered from the highest summer rainfall totals in over three decades. The recent flash flooding has left one-third of the country submerged in water, and has created catastrophic damage affecting at least 33 million people – about 15 percent of the population – according to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority. Furthermore, Bloomberg estimates that the flooding has caused $10 billion in damages and destroyed more than 1 million homes.

While flooding is certainly not uncommon during the monsoon season, rainfall in Pakistan for the month of August was 780 percent above average, as reported by Pakistani Senator and Federal Minister of Climate Change Sherry Rehman. The flooding is so severe that a 100 km inland lake is now visible from satellites in space. This is a direct effect of climate change. “Global warming means that water evaporates much faster out at sea. And, a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture. So, monsoons risk bringing way too much rain,” explains Manuela Andreoni in The New York Times.

This natural disaster follows the harmful heatwave earlier in the year, with triple-digit temperatures, which had already exhausted social services and public aid in Pakistan. It also comes amidst a major political strain in the country. In April, a no-confidence motion was made against Prime Minister Imran Khan, which led to his removal as Pakistan’s leader. Now, the former prime minister continues to hold rallies and prepares to launch his supposed comeback, which has ensured high political tension throughout Pakistan. Shehbaz Sharif now serves as prime minister, while the nation also suffers through an economic crisis – including the country’s debt, record inflation, and food insecurity stemming from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Pakistan is also considering getting vegetable imports from India after the flooding due to the rising food prices, according to a statement from Finance Minister Miftah Ismail on Monday. This is a significant option, considering India and Pakistan’s hostile relationship with each other is rooted in a history of wars, power politics, and rivalry regarding territory, water, and trade. 

While natural disasters can not necessarily be controlled, the response and recovery to them can be. According to a report from Vox featuring a conversation with Ayesha Siddiqi, a geographer at the University of Cambridge who researched Pakistan’s response to the 2010 flooding, “structural inequalities, bad policy-making, and an emphasis on grand-scale infrastructure projects have made much of Pakistan woefully unprepared for the flooding.” Siddiqi explains that Pakistan has completed national projects with the intention of controlling rainfall, however, it creates pockets of water that eventually has to be released, which causes ecological issues.

Moreover, after the floods in 2010, the Pakistani government learned the importance of providing direct cash transfers to those that have been affected. However, what Pakistan has yet to figure out is how to help those same people recover in the long term. Siddiqi shares, “The state has learned how to go about reaching out to people, but…how do we rehabilitate people in the next five years, 10 years, so that they are not this vulnerable again?” Now that there is more severe flooding, it is clear that the country didn’t solve this problem. Furthermore, with the current political tensions and economic crisis, swift recovery measures both now and long after will inevitably be a challenge. 

There needs to be international support for those affected by this climate disaster in Pakistan. In a statement, Farah Naureen, Mercy Corps’ country director for Pakistan, emphasized that Pakistan contributes less than 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions while calling for international support. He states, “This humanitarian catastrophe is yet another example of how countries that contribute the least to global warming are the ones that suffer the most.” The Global Climate Risk Index 2021 and Climate Watch reported that despite the low carbon footprint, Pakistan is one of the 10 countries most affected by extreme weather events. 

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has since announced that he will be travelling to Pakistan, arriving on September 2nd, along with a $160 million emergency plan hoping to reach “5.2 million of the most vulnerable people in the country.” The UN plan has three key objectives. First, provide lifesaving services such as health services, food, clean water and shelter. Second, prevent outbreaks of communicable diseases. And third, ensure that people can access aid and protection, like family tracing. While these are each important first steps to initial aid, it will be essential that Pakistan and supporting organizations continue their assistance and create plans for long-term recovery. UN refugee spokesperson Matthew Saltmarsh shared in Geneva that thus far much of the UN’s response has been providing emergency relief items, but “much, much more” will be required. 

A potential long-term solution to the crisis would be for other countries to cancel Pakistan’s public foreign debt, thus that money could be used for relief efforts and go directly toward those affected. Principally, countries that have large carbon footprints and release a lot of emissions should be inclined to forgive these debts, considering how little Pakistan contributes to climate change. The money could be required to go towards projects that will reduce the impact of future floods. Furthermore, it is in the international community’s best interest to keep the region stabilized, this could be seen as a worthy investment. However, it would ultimately be very difficult to fully convince these nations to get on board. Internally, Pakistan could funnel fewer funds into the country’s military and restructure it to go toward the people in need. 

The flooding in Pakistan is devastating. While there is UN support and action for immediate relief, Pakistan needs to develop a long-term recovery plan, unlike what happened after the floods in 2010. The nations contributing the most to climate change should be adamant about providing support, whether it be in the form of cancelling debt or other forms of help. But now the most important thing is providing those that have been affected with immediate aid.