Experts cite climate change as one of the primary drivers for extreme monsoons in Pakistan, raising grim concerns that such events are set to become more frequent and severe.
Saeed said observational data has indicated a shift in monsoon patterns – not only in rainfall volume but also in movement.
“Our monsoon rains are shifting towards the west. Now, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is receiving more rain,” he told CNA’s Asia First programme. The northwestern province, flanked by mountains and glaciers, has suffered the most deaths in this year’s monsoons.
“Since 2018, there has been very little (snow) over our mountains, which is exacerbating the situation,” he added.
“Our winter rains are decreasing, and our monsoon rains are increasing. This phenomenon, this pattern is expected to continue in the future. It’s a complete change in the hydrological cycle.”
MELTING GLACIERS & CLOUDBURSTS
Temperatures in Pakistan’s mountainous areas are increasing at an unprecedented rate, rising more than 2.5 degree Celsius in the past 50 years.
Last month, record breaking heat was reported in Chilas, a city in Gilgit-Baltistan located more than 1,000m above the sea level, when the mercury soared to a scorching 48.5 degrees Celsius.
Pakistan is home to more than 7,000 glaciers – the largest number outside the polar regions. As temperatures soar, these rivers of ice are melting rapidly, contributing to flood and landslide risks.
Glaciers and other ice surfaces also reflect 50 to 70 per cent of sunlight into space, preventing the earth from getting warmer.
“As glaciers melt (and) expose land … the earth absorbs more solar radiation and becomes hotter, making the atmosphere more volatile, (causing) events like cloudbursts,” said Fahad Saeed, a senior climate scientist at Climate Analytics.
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