Torrential rain has pummeled Pakistan this monsoon season, causing hundreds of deaths and injuries. Another round of heavy rain arrived less than a week later, devastating the northern part of the country.

The country's monsoon season started bringing heavy rain in late June. Since June 26, floods have killed 266 people and injured another 628. Children made up nearly half of the deaths in four weeks.

"The floodwaters engulfed our homes and crops before my eyes," Malak Jamil, the owner of a small farm in Chakwal, told the New York Times after flooding brought losses of over $6000 to his property in mid-July. "I have no idea how I will recover from this."

Torrential rainfall hit hard again in late July. Concerns of heavy monsoon rains causing glacial lake outburst floods in vulnerable regions of the country prompted the Pakistan Meteorology Department to issue a high alert for possible floods on July 22.

Alerts came in the wake of another round of heavy monsoon rainfall that left three more dead and had responders searching for at least 15 missing on July 21.

Pakistan has at least two major concerns when it comes to the threat of flooding, glacial lake outburst floods and monsoons.

Glacial lake outburst floods played a part in the recent flooding in Pakistan. Our warming world means GLOFs now threaten millions of people around the world.

"The continued ice loss and expansion of glacial lakes due to climate change therefore represents a globally important natural hazard that requires urgent attention if future loss of life from GLOF is to be minimised," noted a study published in the Nature Communications journal.

Our warming world is impacting monsoonal rain. Scientists estimate that for every degree of warming, the atmosphere can hold 4% more moisture. That moisture is then available to be squeezed out, raising the risk of heavier downpours that can contribute to deadly flooding.

"The strongest effect of climate change on the monsoons is the increase in atmospheric moisture associated with warming of the atmosphere, resulting in an increase in total monsoon rainfall even if the strength of the monsoon circulation weakens or does not change," according to the Royal Meteorological Society in the U.K.

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"Climate model projections through the 21st century show an increase in total monsoon rainfall, largely due to increasing atmospheric moisture content," the RMS continued.

Pakistan ranked first in Germanwatch's Climate Risk Index, which assesses countries most vulnerable to an overheating planet.

"Scorching heat, heavy rainfalls, raging wildfires, deadly floods, and devastating storms: The manifestations of extreme weather events have become too common in a new reality worldwide," warned the latest Climate Risk Index report.

"From 1993 to 2022, more than 765,000 lives were lost and direct economic losses of nearly USD 4.2 trillion (inflation-adjusted) were recorded, driven by more than 9,400 extreme weather events," the authors of the report added. "The frequency and intensity of climate-related disasters continue to rise, and these figures underscore the urgent need for climate action."

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