Indian sub-continent: Canary in coal mine, or lab rat?Well actually both. We have previously reported the situation in Pakistan since last year when 30% of the county flooded. We believe that the damage to nations without a major role in mining copper, will offer a prelude to what will occur in those countries that do.
“The 2023 monsoon season hampered recovery from the 2022 floods and brought additional hardship for affected people. Between July 25-30, 2023, Pakistan’s southwestern provinces faced devastation due to heavy monsoon rains and flash floods. As of Aug. 5, 2023, the disaster resulted in the deaths of 196 people and injured 283 more across seven provinces.”
For purposes of understanding the long-term impact of climate change we should examine the effect of extreme weather upon croplands. The concern here is that the effects of extreme weather are both accumulative and decline in food production from flooding in one country, can push up food prices globally.
“According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), some 9.4 million acres of crop area in Pakistan were potentially inundated in August 2022, including 4.8 million acres in Sindh, 2.7 million acres in Punjab, 1.2 million acres in Balochistan and 714,000 acres in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. At least 1.2 million livestock were killed, with severe repercussions on the livelihoods of affected households and the supply of animal products, including milk and meat. According to officials, the floods affected nearly 15% of Pakistan’s rice crop and 40% of its cotton crop. Floodwaters wiped out the personal grain stores that many farming families rely on for food yearlong.” - Center for Disaster Philanthropy
https://disasterphilanthropy.org/disasters/2022-pakistan-floods/#impact
While flooding plagues North Indian, crops are simultaneously reduced due to drought in the south.
BENGALURU, India (AP) — Sanjay Chauhan witnessed monsoon rains lash down over his home and farm in the Indian Himalayas this year with a magnitude and intensity he's never experienced before.
“Buildings have collapsed, roads are broken, there were so many landslides including one that has destroyed a large part of my orchard," said the 56-year-old farmer, who lives in the town of Shimla in Himachal Pradesh. “I have not seen anything like this.”
We believe that an examination of how these popuations deal with the onslaught of extreme weather will be instructive as much of the effects of global warming upon local economies and food production are new and not yet fully understood by science.
b.