The lingering, insidious impacts of the catastrophic, the climate-fueled flooding that submerged one-third of Pakistan in the summer of 2022, illustrate the degree to which countries worldwide are unprepared for the multifaceted — and very present — effects of climate change, the Washington Post reports. “I had no idea what miseries this flood would bring for us,” Muhammad Yaqoob — whom villagers call a wadero, or chief — of a village in Sindh province, the hardest hit by the floods.
The massive analysis by The Post reveals the staggering, and compounding toll, of extreme heat and flooding — everything from disease spread by contaminated flood water, to skyrocketing vector-borne diseases like malaria and dengue fever, to heat stroke and kidney failure, to malnutrition, to dramatically increasing miscarriages, premature and low birth weight babies, and low breast milk production. Pakistan, among others, has been at the forefront of the push for a global “loss and damage” fund. That effort succeeded in establishing such a fund at COP27 last year, and its implementation is expected to be a top agenda item at COP28 in Dubai this December. (Washington Post $; Climate Signals background: Extreme precipitation increase, Vector-borne disease risk increase)