Floods ‘stark reminder’ of ill-effects

Qureshi says Pakistan's floods are a result of the adverse effects of climate change, urges corrective measures.

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan’s devastating floods, which serve as a “stark reminder” of the adverse effects of climate change in South Asia call for corrective measures at regional and international levels, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Tuesday.

“Apart from the unprecedented Pakistan floods, other intense climatic events in South Asia confirm that our sub-region is one of the most climatically vulnerable sub-regions in Asia,” he said in a gathering of high level South Asian delegates.

The event was organised by Bangladesh on the sidelines of the UN Summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), now underway at United Nations Headquarters in New York. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting at which Qureshi focused on the colossal damage inflicted by the torrential rains that triggered the floods.

“Climate change in South Asia will cause escalating levels of damage and suffering,” the foreign minister said.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 23^rd, 2010.