Climate Change Intensified Rain That Fueled Deadly Pakistan Floods
Global warming made the downpour in two hard-hit provinces 75% more intense, according to a study by the World Weather Attribution research group.
Flood water in Sanghar district, Sindh province, Pakistan, on Sept. 9.
Photographer: Asim Hafeez/BloombergClimate change made peak rainfall last month in Pakistan’s Sindh and Balochistan provinces — which contributed to the devastating flooding that has affected 33 million people — 75% more intense than it would have been in a world without warming, according to an analysis by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a scientific group that studies the link between extreme weather events and climate change.
In addition to the rainfall, a heat wave in India and Pakistan earlier this year, also fueled by climate change, worsened the flooding that left a third of Pakistan under water, the scientists found.