Pakistan: Massive Increase in Tropical Cyclones due to Climate Change

What Happened: Due to the continuous rise in the sea-surface temperature, the formation of tropical cyclones in the Arabian sea has increased 10 times during the last 20 years. In the years to come, the occurrence of even more frequent and intense tropical cyclone is predicted that may have a drastic impact on the coastal areas of Pakistan. Background: Dr Ghulam Rasool, former Director-General, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and Regional Program Manager Center for Mountain Development (ICIMOD), was speaking at a three-day online training workshop on “Sea-level rise and implications for Pakistan” jointly organized by the UK Met Office and International Centre for Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in partnership with Pakistan Meteorological Department. The Indus Delta is a very important entity of Pakistan coastal ecosystem. It is the sixth largest and seventh most vulnerable delta in the world. It is directly affected by the sea level rise including seawater intrusion, brackish groundwater neither suitable for drinking nor agriculture, storm surges, reduced environmental flows and deforestation of mangroves.  “In addition to the more frequent formation of intense tropical cyclones, the rise in seawater temperature is resulting in sea-level rise which can seriously affect coastal ecosystems, destruction of agricultural lands, along the coastal belt and may result in mass migration due to loss of livelihood,” Dr Ghulam Rasool said Tuesday.  Dr Rasool asked Pakistan meteorological scientists to assess the implications of sea-level rise and increased number of tropical cyclones to the coastal infrastructure and the Indus delta by using data from sea-level observations. He stressed on risk assessment and effective planning to cater to problems that may arise in future. Dr Rasool mentioned that the training modules are developed to cover a wide range of topics related to the science of sea-level rise and the future projections to help policymakers and planners to take long-term policy measures.  Click here for more from Propergaanda