![]() The floods have already caused significant increases in infectious diseases like malaria, cholera, dengue and fungal skin infections. Natural disasters impact population health in several ways. While climate change heightens Pakistan’s vulnerability to such weather events, the flooding is not simply a story about climate change. Deforestation has removed the plant life that stabilises soil, meaning that the ground is less able to absorb the water. Increased surface temperatures led to extreme heat waves, which caused Pakistan’s glaciers to melt earlier and in a larger volume. The British Red Cross estimates that the 2022 summer monsoon rainfall was three times higher than the 30-year average. The damages and economic losses caused by the floods total more than US$30 billion.Ī combination of factors created the conditions for such extreme flooding in Pakistan. Over 1700 people died, nearly 12,000 were injured and more than 2 million were left homeless. Months after the flooding ended, as many as 8 million people still live near contaminated flood waters, prolonging their exposure to potential pathogens.īetween June and October 2022, more than 10 per cent of the country flooded. The devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan highlight the interplay between natural disasters, climate change and population health. Economics, Politics and Public Policy in East Asia and the PacificĪuthor: Jeremy Youde, University of Minnesota Duluth
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