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Why are Pakistan’s floods so extreme this year?

Huge swathes of the country are under water, following an intense heatwave and a long monsoon that has dumped a record amount of rain.
  1. Smriti Mallapaty
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With rivers breaking their banks, flash flooding and glacial lakes bursting, Pakistan is experiencing its worst floods this century. At least two-thirds of the country’s districts have been affected. Scientists say several factors have contributed to the extreme event, which has displaced some 33 million people and killed more than 1,200.

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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-02813-6

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 02 September 2022: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of houses that have been destroyed. The correct figure is 1.2 million.

  • Correction 16 September 2022: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that at least one-third of the country was under water.

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