Every year, Pakistan grapples with torrential rains that, due to inadequate infrastructure, displace thousands and claim hundreds of lives. Punjab is facing its worst riverine flooding in decades, with urgent needs in shelter, food, water, sanitation, health, and livestock support. According to UNOCHA, since late June, 6.9 million people have been affected, including 4.7 million people in Punjab, 1.6 million people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 356,000 people in Gilgit-Baltistan, and 185,000 people in Sindh. The families returning to their homes find their homes damaged and livelihoods destroyed.

Entire communities were submerged, crops destroyed, and livelihoods obliterated, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable climate-resilience strategies and proactive preparedness. Environmental conditions can exacerbate disaster impacts, just as disasters can, in turn, degrade the environment. The adverse effects of environmental degradation on human vulnerability manifest in ways such as deforestation, flawed forest management, and unsustainable agricultural practices, which amplify storm or typhoon devastation through landslides, flooding, silting, and contamination of groundwater and surface water. Rapid deforestation disrupts rainfall patterns by reducing evapotranspiration rates, moisture flow, and the soil’s water-retention capacity.

These alterations, often triggered by large-scale deforestation, can lead to........

© The Friday Times