What the flooding in Pakistan means for the future of my country
A young Pakistani activist writes about the lasting effects of climate injustice and what she wants to see happen at COP27. (Courtesy of Ayesha)
A young Pakistani activist writes about the lasting effects of climate injustice and what she wants to see happen at COP27.
Over the last six months, the people of Pakistan have experienced the kind of climate change nightmare that experts have been warning the world about for decades.
In April and May, we saw record-breaking heat waves, with temperatures reaching 49 degrees Celsius. These heat waves led to water shortages, an electric power shortage and melted glaciers. The increase in temperature made the Shisper glacial lake overflow, destroying the Hassanabad bridge and hurting Pakistan’s economy.
Following the heatwaves, unprecedented monsoon rains caused the most severe flooding in Pakistan’s recent history. From June to August, Pakistan received nearly 190% more rain than its 30-year average, drowning one-third of the country’s land in water. To put this in perspective, Pakistan is home to approximately 220.9 million people. The floods have upended 33 million lives and caused over 1,600 deaths, including 579 children. They have cost our already handicapped economy an estimated $40 billion and interrupted the education of 3.5 million children.
“The floods have upended 33 million lives and caused over 1,600 deaths, including 579 children. They have cost our already handicapped economy an estimated $40 billion and interrupted the education of 3.5 million children.”
As I have watched drastic changes in climate tear my country apart, I feel like I’m on the verge of losing hope. Although Pakistan contributes less than 1% of the global greenhouse gases, our geography between two major weather systems makes us extremely susceptible to the effects of climate change. My people are paying the price for the decisions and greed of leaders in other countries. It isn’t fair.
As a doctor, I spent time in a relief camp. The difficulties that climate refugees face cannot be quantified in numbers. While people deal with the loss of all their possessions, many must also contend with the loss of family members and loved ones. Speaking with these climate refugees brought back memories of a loss I had experienced at the brunt of the climate injustice. In 2017, the heat waves took away a loved one from me too. It is perhaps the only loss that has no replacement or reparation. This realisation has been my motivation to speak out about climate change and prevented me from turning a blind eye to the climate emergency.
I want people to know that every aspect of Pakistani society will feel the lasting effects of these floods. The loss of agriculture and livestock will lead to an irrevocable financial loss. The closures of schools will disrupt the education of children across the country. The disease outbreaks and limited access to healthcare facilities will cause even more deaths. The unavailability of clean drinking water and food will result in malnutrition. The displacement will increase rates of gender-based violence. And all of this will cause long-term psychological damage to those affected.
“As a doctor, I spent time in a relief camp. The difficulties that climate refugees face cannot be quantified in numbers,” Ayesha shares. (Courtesy of Ayesha)
Of these, I am most concerned about the effects on education and healthcare. Before this climate catastrophe, the government hadn’t provided the education or healthcare systems with the funding they needed to become robust and resilient. Now I fear that these two struggling systems will not be able to recover from the floods’ damages.
The COVID-19 pandemic had already affected the education of 46 million Pakistani children. The floods have only made the situation worse. Since July, the flooding has damaged over 25,900 schools and another 5,000 are now being used as temporary camps, which means prolonged closures and additional learning losses. This has served as a blow to Pakistan’s crumbling education system. Our schools determine our country's future — and once again that future is at risk and uncertain.
“I want people to know that every aspect of Pakistani society will feel the lasting effects of these floods.”
The floods have also put our fragile health infrastructure in danger. They damaged over 1,500 healthcare facilities and thousands of people are unable to access medical care. Lack of clean water, sanitation and hygiene facilities has exposed people to outbreaks of cholera, severe diarrhoea and dysentery. Children and elderly people are particularly vulnerable to severe dehydration as a result. Since the water is not receding, people must make their way through the microbe-contaminated flood water and subsequently develop serious skin infections. A huge outbreak of vector-borne illnesses — including malaria and dengue — has made the situation even worse for those who have been marooned by flood water.
The disaster has disproportionately affected girls and women. In the upcoming months, 83,000 pregnant women are anticipated to give birth. However the lack of essential healthcare resources — including support staff — combined with the unhygienic water crisis conditions will make the deliveries unsafe and increase the risk of serious postpartum complications and infections. Moreover, menstruating girls and women have little to no access to sanitary products or ways to safely dispose of them. The floods have washed away the belongings of many people, including clothing used for menstrual management. Girls and women who are now marooned in their homes or communities and don’t have access to a supply of menstrual products. Too often relief kits don’t include menstrual products.
“The floods have washed away the belongings of many people, including clothing used for menstrual management. Girls and women who are now marooned in their homes or communities and don’t have access to a supply of menstrual products.”
I find it difficult to put my trust in world leaders who have repeatedly let us down, who have failed to safeguard our future. For too long, we have been fed promises that have proven empty as no action continues to occur. For example, Canada — the tenth-highest emitter of GHGs — pledged to reduce emissions by 40–45% from 2005 levels by 2030, yet the government approved the world’s most environmentally destructive oil sand project in Alberta. High-income countries failed to fulfil their commitment to provide $100 billion to low-income nations by 2020 for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Our leaders have shamelessly celebrated their plans to achieve net-zero, yet their actions have so far only led us into the wrong direction.
But as the world leaders prepare to gather in November at the U.N. climate change conference, known as COP27, to make decisions that will impact our future, I have no choice but to ask them once again to do more than make promises. I want them to take bold steps to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. I want them to not only see young people as crucial players in the fight against climate change but to also see us as partners in this fight. Leaders need to actually work alongside youth activists and invest in our ideas. They need to expand and invest resources in climate education so that every young person has the training and skills to challenge climate change. And they need to support the countries bearing the brunt of climate change, like Pakistan, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. No amount of negotiation will make up for our losses but there is still time to prevent the same from repeating in future.
“My people are paying the price for the decisions and greed of leaders in other countries. It isn’t fair.”
I will be attending COP27 in November to tell leaders how the climate crisis is already affecting the lives and futures of millions of people in my home country. I plan to ask them what actions they will take right now to address the climate crisis’ disproportionate effect on girls and on countries like mine.
To combat climate change, we need systemic change and action at the local and global level. And that’s what I’m hoping to see at COP27.
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