ON SEPTEMBER 19, a river in Japan’s Miyazaki prefecture overflowed due to Typhoon Nanmadol and destroyed a riverside house[1]. In Pakistan, a flood swept away the house of 63-year-old Hussain Sadiq, who said that he “lost everything[2]” in the disaster. Even though these two tragic events might sound like unrelated accidents, they are both  the results of natural disasters caused by climate change.

Typhoon Nanmadol in Japan and South Korea

   Typhoon Nanmadol was a super typhoon with wind speeds of 240 km/h that hit Japan and South Korea at the end of summer this year. After making landfall in Kyushu’s Kagoshima region in Japan on September 18, the typhoon moved to the main island of Honshu and then to Tokyo over the next few days[3]. In the process, the typhoon caused landslides that led to a significant number of casualties, injuring more than 100 and killing at least 4[3]. Kyushu was the region that suffered the greatest damage from the typhoon; power lines and facilities were damaged, and 216,450 homes lost electricity[4]. 

   Typhoon Nanmadol also gravely impacted Japanese society. Most significantly, transportation had to halt for approximately two days. In Kyushu, hundreds of domestic flights, bullet train services, and ferry trips were canceled. Likewise, public transportation was halted[5]. Additionally, most local businesses were disrupted due to the need to shut down. For instance, Toyota Motor Corp. suspended night shifts in 12 of its domestic plants and delayed overall production in local factories[6]. 

   Compared to Japan, Typhoon Nanmadol left relatively minor damage in South Korea. The typhoon hit the southeastern coastal areas of Korea on September 19[7]. Due to heavy rains and strong winds, a total of 831 people in the North and South Gyeongsang provinces and Busan were evacuated from their houses. In Ulsan, households had no power for a few hours[8]. Yet, the typhoon did not leave many casualties, leaving only two injured in Busan[8]. 

   Both the Japanese and South Korean governments did a relatively good job in handling the damages caused by Typhoon Nanmadol. Before the typhoon, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warned people to evacuate promptly if they “even feel the slightest danger[6],” and the Cabinet Office was quick in applying the Disaster Relief Act to all municipalities in Kyushu’s seven prefectures. The central and prefectural governments bore the costs of setting up evacuation centers for civilians. Despite the typhoon’s minor impact in Korea, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol instructed his officials to “respond seriously to Nanmadol to an extent that could be seen as excessive[9].” Yoon also ordered evacuations in areas at risk of flooding and called for national vigilance before the typhoon even hit Korea.

Floods in Pakistan

   Pakistan’s monsoon season this year produced unparalleled rainfall—nearly “190% more rain than its 30-year average”—which led to floods that devastated millions[10]. The floods raged throughout the country, submerged a third of Pakistan, and killed more than 1,191 people. According to the National Disaster Management Authority, over 370,000 houses were fully damaged while around 730,000 were partially damaged[2]. In particular, 84% of this damage has been reported from Sindh, the second most populated province in Pakistan.

   The flood’s greatest impact was on Pakistan's infrastructure; about 5,000 km of road and 243 bridges were damaged, and telecommunication services in some parts of the country were affected[10]. Most importantly, Pakistan’s main supply route in the port city of Karachi was cut off from any trade for more than a week[11]. The flood waters also swept away crops and livestock, which meant that impoverished families had to face even greater struggles to obtain food. Not only did citizens lose their own stores of grain, but the Pakistani government also failed to import enough food supplies for its people due to globally raised food prices. Before the floods, 16% of Pakistan’s population lived in severe food insecurity—the floods will only exacerbate this problem[12].

   The socio-economic impact of the floods is serious for Pakistan. Agriculture is a key sector that makes up nearly a fourth of Pakistan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 22.7%. However, the flood brought massive destruction to Pakistan’s cotton and textile industry by destroying almost 80% of the cotton crops in Sindh[11]. Due to the cotton shortage, Pakistan’s textile industry—“an important source of employment and foreign exchange”—is suffering as well, since around 70% of the industry uses domestically-produced cotton[12]. Due to the floods’ economic impact, Pakistan’s Finance Minister Miftah Ismail estimates that the country has incurred a total loss of “at least $10 billion[13].” Other independent analysts like Uzair Younus, the Director of the Pakistan Initiative at the Atlantic Council’s South Asia Center, expect the losses to be between $15 billion and $20 billion[11]. 

   Unlike the Japanese and South Korean governments, the Pakistani government is seen as a contributor to the floods’ devastation. Jacob Kutzer, the Director of Humanitarian Agenda, underscores that the Pakistani government is “paying the price for years of delays in addressing the problem[14].” The problems Kutzer alludes to are a lack of necessary infrastructure like dams that prevent floods, mismanagement of natural resources, and weak governance. A lot of the targeted infrastructure was built illegally and poorly after the 2010 floods, and the government did nothing about it, so most of it could not withstand this year’s torrential flood. Furthermore, illegal logging left 95% of Pakistan’s land deforested and more susceptible to flooding[14]. Lastly, domestic political instability delayed and undermined media coverage of extreme weather changes in the country prior to the natural disasters. Therefore, people in Pakistan were less aware of and prepared for this year’s floods.

Climate change

   Climate change is seen as the main culprit behind the increasing severity of natural disasters in Asia. The scientific consensus to the cause of super typhoons like Typhoon Nanmadol is anthropogenic climate change. Essentially, global warming heats the oceans and the warmer waters generate more energy and moisture in the air, which fuels typhoons[16]. Pakistan’s floods can be linked to climate change as well. Global warming is causing air and sea temperatures to rise, leading to more evaporation. Because warmer air holds more moisture, monsoon rainfall becomes more intense. Moreover, Pakistan’s northern regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa contain more glacial ice than almost anywhere in the world, and global warming from climate change melts this glacial ice and causes rivers to overflow[17].

   According to Kutzer, these disasters can be linked to the effects of global carbon emissions. In particular, the Global North’s excessive carbon emissions from fossil fuels are bringing severe disasters to countries in the Global South. Even though Pakistan makes up 2.6% of the world’s population, it has contributed only 0.4% of global carbon emissions since 1959[14]. On the other hand, countries in the Global North have generated 92% of global carbon emissions, bearing a disproportionate liability[14]. However, Typhoon Nanmadol’s damages to Japan and South Korea demonstrate how excessive carbon emissions from developed countries have not just a regional, but a global impact. As global warming is a problem that does not discriminate between rich or poor, northern or southern countries, all nations should share the goal of reducing global warming and curbing climate change.

[1] Reuters

[2] Reuters

[3] BBC

[4] PBS

[5] AP News

[6] The Japan Times

[7] The Korea Herald

[8] Korea JoongAng Daily

[9] Arirang

[10] Carbon Brief

[11] Reuters

[12] All Pakistan Textile Mills Association

[13] Al Jazeera

[14] Center for Strategies & International Studies 

[15] Greenpeace International

[16] Imperial College London

[17] BBC