Pakistan Among 20 Countries at Risk of Very High Rainfall

Based on a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), Pakistan is one of 20 countries at risk of ‘excessive rainfall’ due to the anticipated return of the El Nino oceanographic phenomenon in June, which appears three years after La Nina. 

The report suggests that 42 countries are in danger of the effects of El Nino, which might cause dry conditions.

Aside from Pakistan, countries at risk of excessive rainfall include Armenia, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bhutan, Iraq, Iran, Kenya, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, Mexico, Syria, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Turkiye, the United States (US), and Uzbekistan. 

The report highlights the possibility of El Nino-induced dry weather conditions affecting cereal crop output in 2023-24, thereby aggravating local food poverty.

The El Nino, which is expected to reappear in June 2023, was a major cause of extreme weather events that posed serious threats to global food security. As per the most recent Hunger Hotspots study, the number of people suffering severe food insecurity in 53 countries/territories reportedly reached 222 million by 2022.

The study also mentions an unusual occurrence of a third straight La Nina event in 2022 and early 2023. La Nina episodes are frequently connected with wetter weather in Australia and drier weather in the US, South America, and East Africa.