They were more intense and destructive than most years, and eventually the water had nowhere to go. “The people of Pakistan are facing a monsoon on steroids, the relentless impact of seasonal levels of rain and flooding,” UN chief Antonio Guterres said in a video statement. “This climate disaster has killed more than 1,000 people and injured many more.” Some provinces have already received five to six times their average annual rainfall, according to NASA. That’s a staggering number, considering the average is made up of 30 years of data, including 2010 when 2,000 people were killed during the deadliest monsoon floods in the county’s history. Mountain snow and melting glaciers only made the problem worse. Pakistan has the highest concentration of glacier ice outside the polar regions, according to NASA. Melt and monsoon rains accumulate in mountain creeks and accelerate downhill, touching landslides. NASA says this is a significant amount of falls compared to 30 years of data. NASA Earth Observatory “This climate disaster has killed more than 1,000 people and injured many more,” said UN chief Antonio Guterres. NASA Earth Observatory NASA says the monsoon rains were heavier and more damaging than most years, and eventually, the water had nowhere to go. NASA Earth Observatory The Pakistan Meteorological Department expects the monsoon season to wane in late September. Houses are surrounded by floodwaters in Jaffarabad, a district in Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province.AP Satellites were able to document the historic flood from space. Images provided by Maxar and NASA show just how massive this year’s monsoon floods were.
