Pakistan Village Under Existential Threat From Flooding
2023 is set to be the hottest year on record and a village located in Pakistan’s high mountains is facing the daily reality of the growing climate crisis.
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00:00 (camera shutter clicking)
00:02 Taking photos of ice movements.
00:05 But Tariq Jamil is not a thrill-seeking tourist
00:08 here in Pakistan's far northern Hunza Valley.
00:11 He's trying to preserve his community's way of life.
00:15 The 51-year-old's village of Hassanabad
00:29 is under threat from unstable lakes
00:31 which can burst and cause deadly flooding in the area.
00:36 This is especially a problem in summer,
00:38 when the Shispa Glacier melts and overfills the lake.
00:41 The problem is felt throughout the valley.
00:44 In a nearby village, this woman's 11-year-old son
00:48 was swept away when the glacier burst in 2022.
00:51 She's scared it will happen again.
00:54 (speaking in foreign language)
00:58 With the help of the local government and an NGO,
01:05 Jamil is now monitoring an early warning system.
01:08 The village's 200 families can access the system
01:11 on their phones or the internet.
01:13 (speaking in foreign language)
01:18 (speaking in foreign language)
01:22 But with the accelerating climate crisis,
01:28 he's fighting an uphill battle.
01:30 A UN report this week says the planet is on track
01:34 to warm by nearly three degrees Celsius this century.
01:37 The Shispa Glacier has already receded
01:41 due to rising global temperatures.
01:43 (speaking in foreign language)
01:48 (speaking in foreign language)
01:52 And experts say the chances of it bursting
01:57 and causing floods will only increase.
02:00 (speaking in foreign language)
02:14 Around the world, the people who bear least responsibility
02:17 for the climate crisis are the most vulnerable
02:19 to its impacts, like here in Pakistan's Hunza Valley.
02:24 But for now, Jamil and his community
02:26 are doing everything they can
02:27 to make sure they have a future.
02:31 Dolphine Chen and Sally Jensen for Taiwan Plus.
02:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]