Catastrophic Floods are the new normal in Pakistan

[Xithras]

3. Pakistan is the worst nation in Asia when it comes to deforestation.

It is consistently rated as the most heavily deforested nation in Asia, and the rate of deforestation has been INCREASING over the past decade. In the past 20 years, nearly 50% of the nations northern forests have permanently disappeared. We're talking about millions of acres of forest lands being clear cut. And they're not replanting them.

The mountains in northwestern Pakistan are steep. With no trees to protect the undergrowth and hold the water, rainfall simply runs directly into the rivers and down into these towns and cities. Water that once trickled slowly into these rivers, keeping them flowing for months, now rushes downstream and vanishes within days of a storm. Rivers that were once manageable are now uncontrollable, and rivers that once flowed year round are now completely dry within weeks of the end of monsoon season.

Environmental destruction has consequences. Until the government of Pakistan gets serious about combating illegal logging and puts a program into place to replant these forests, this problem is just going to get worse.