Subhechcha Ganguly 
Due to what the head of the UN called “monsoon on steroids,” more than one-third of Pakistan is currently under water. Since mid-June, the flood-stricken nation has experienced ten times more rainfall than usual. The flood that has affected more than 33 million people in Pakistan and claimed more than 1,100 lives is visible in the satellite images provided by the European Space Agency. One of the worst floods in the nation’s history has destroyed homes, agricultural lands, and infrastructure.
As the cash-strapped nation struggles to rescue and care for the millions of people displaced by the record deluges, the death toll in Pakistan’s devastating flooding has risen to 1,265 people. The Pakistani government on Saturday pleaded with the international community to continue supporting the nation despite the catastrophic floods, which are causing chaos for civilians and are eerily similar to Hurricane Katrina’s devastation in the US in 2005. Even if Islamabad were to buy grain at a discount from Russia, as is being discussed, it would still be difficult for it to afford imports.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that he was “saddened” to see the destruction and “hoped for an early restoration of normalcy” in his first statement regarding the floods in Pakistan. According to a number of reports, there are currently high-level discussions about the possibility of providing Pakistan with humanitarian aid. Although no decision has been made as of yet, top officials in South Block are reportedly debating the available options. Pakistan has the most glaciers outside of the polar regions at over 7,200. Many of them are probably melting earlier and more quickly as a result of rising temperatures linked to climate change, which adds water to rivers and streams that have already been swollen by rainfall and causes floods as a result of overflowing water sources.
By Subhechcha Ganguly
