Climate change blamed as Pakistan’s Punjab endures biggest flood in history

Villagers wade through a flooded area after torrential rain in Pindi Bhattian, Pakistan (A Rizvi/AP)

Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province is dealing with the biggest flood in its history as water levels in rivers rise to all-time highs.

Global warming has worsened monsoon rains this year in Pakistan, one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, and downpours and cloudbursts have triggered flash floods and landslides across the mountainous north and north-west in recent months.

Residents in eastern Punjab have also experienced abnormal amounts of rain, as well as cross-border flooding after India released water from swollen rivers and overflowing dams into Pakistan’s low-lying regions.

The senior minister for the province, Maryam Aurangzeb, told a press conference on Sunday: “This is the biggest flood in the history of the Punjab. The flood has affected two million people. It’s the first time that the three rivers – Sutlet, Chenab, and Ravi – have carried such high levels of water.”

Villagers with their livestock navigate a flooded area in Pindi Bhattian, Pakistan (A Rizvi/AP)

Local authorities are using educational institutions, police, and security facilities as rescue camps, and evacuating people, including by boat, she said.

“The foreign ministry is collecting data regarding India’s deliberate release of water into Pakistan,” added Ms Aurangzeb. There was no immediate comment from India.

India alerted its neighbour to the possibility of cross-border flooding last week, the first public diplomatic contact between the two countries since a crisis brought them close to war in May.

Punjab, home to some 150 million people, is a vital part of the country’s agricultural sector and is Pakistan’s main wheat producer. Ferocious flooding in 2022 wiped out huge areas of crops in the east and south of the country, leading Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to warn of food shortages.

Figures from Pakistan’s national weather centre show Punjab received 26.5% more monsoon rain between July 1 and August 27 compared to the same period last year.

The country’s disaster management authority said 849 people have been killed and 1,130 injured nationwide in rain-related incidents since June 26.

Pakistan’s monsoon season usually runs to the end of September.