The risk of floods has increased in South Asia due to high vulnerability and exposure. The August 2022 Pakistan flood shows a glimpse of the enormity and devastation that can further rise under the warming climate. The deluge caused by the floods in 2022, which badly hit the country’s southern provinces, is incomparable to any recent events in terms of the vast spatial and temporal scale. The flood event is ranked second in human mortality, while this was the top event that displaced about 33 million people in Pakistan. Using observations and climate projections, we examine the causes and implications of the 2022 flood in Pakistan. Multiday (∼15 days) extreme precipitation on wet antecedent soil moisture conditions was the primary driver of the flood in August 2022. The extreme precipitation in August was caused by two atmospheric rivers that passed over southern Pakistan. Streamflow simulations from the multiple hydrological models show that multiday extreme precipitation was the primary driver of floods. Several flood‐affected stations experienced anomalously higher flow than the upstream stations. The 2022 Pakistan flood highlights the adaptation challenges South Asia is facing along with the substantial need for climate mitigation to reduce the risk of such events.
Artificial recharge plays a prominent role in the sustainable management of groundwater resources. The study has proposed a methodology to viable artificial recharge structure using geographical information system (GIS) and empirical equation techniques for augmenting groundwater resources in the Ranchi urban and rural area of Ranchi District, Jharkhand. The thematic layers for geomorphology, drainage density, order of streams, runoff and trend has been prepared in the GIS environment using convection and remote sensing data. It has been found that the slope and topographic gradient of Ranchi region is one of the major governing factors, which restricts to hold surface water stagnant. Jumar watershed is found as the most feasible watershed for the construction of check dams/percolation tanks followed by Lower Subarnarekha watershed. Out of 15 deeper exploratory wells, 14 are declining. Harmu watershed is found to be in the worst condition in terms of availability of runoff water. Harmu, Kanke, Bariyatu, Namkum, Doranda, Hinoo and Hatia have found as the most suitable locations for installation of RTRWH within the Ranchi urban area. Based on the available field information, check dams are suggested as the most promising artificial recharge structures for Ranchi rural environment.
The risk of floods has increased in South Asia due to high vulnerability and exposure. The August 2022 Pakistan flood shows a glimpse of the enormity and devastation that can further rise under the warming climate. The deluge caused by the Pakistan floods in 2022, which badly hit the country's southern provinces, is incomparable to any recent events in terms of the vast spatial and temporal scale. The 2022 Pakistan flood ranked third in human mortality, while this was the top event that displaced about 32 million people. Using observations and climate projections, we examine the causes and implications of the August 2022 flood in Pakistan. Multiday (˜15 days) extreme precipitation on wet antecedent soil moisture conditions was the primary driver of the flood in August 2022. The extreme precipitation in August was caused by two atmospheric rivers that passed over southern Pakistan. Streamflow simulations from the multiple hydrological models show that extreme precipitation was the primary driver of floods as several stations in the flood-affected regions experienced anomalously higher flow than the stations located upstream. The frequency of similar multi-day extreme precipitation events is projected to rise four-fold under the high emission scenario. The 2022 Pakistan flood highlights the adaptation challenges that South Asia is facing along with the substantial need for climate mitigation to reduce the risk of such events in the future.
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