As global warming intensifies, millions of people will be displaced in low-lying coastal areas. In addition to rising sea level, increasing rainfall is already swamping populations from Texas to Pakistan.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/opinion/environment/flood…
**What Is Owed to Pakistan, Now One-Third Underwater**
**By Fatima Bhutto, The New York Times, Sept. 3, 2022**
**Today, one-third of my country, Pakistan, is submerged under water. After unusually intense monsoon rains fell over several weeks, the waters from flash floods made their way into the Indus, overwhelming the riverbanks. According to climate experts, rapidly melting glaciers caused by rising temperatures added to the downward rushing superflood of epic proportions.**
**One in seven Pakistanis have been affected, with many sleeping under open skies, without shelter. About 900,000 livestock have been lost, and more than two million acres of farmland and 90 percent of crops have been damaged. In some provinces, cotton and rice crops, date trees and sugar cane have been nearly obliterated, and half of the onion, chili and tomato crops, all staple foods, are gone. Over 1,350 people are dead, and some 33 million people (50 million according to unofficial tallies) have been displaced....**
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Politicians will argue about who is to blame and whether and/or how much more prosperous areas “owe” to areas that are less prosperous but suffering.
Apart from that, the Macroeconomic impact of massive migrations of climate refugees will intensify as global climate change intensifies. Some highly-populated areas will become uninhabitable due to high temperatures, drought, floods and coastal submersion. Millions of people will be moving.
In the U.S., the cost of mitigation will be huge. Federal flood insurance still encourages people to repeatedly rebuild in unsafe areas after disasters. Electric power grids will be increasingly stressed with the need for air conditioning.
Wendy