A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate chief says

Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by Nokinside on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @10:17AM (#32650793)

Only part of Pakistan is habitable. Pakistan has large inhabitable areas. Including three huge mountain rages: Himalaya, the Karakoram and the Hindukush. In these areas people live only in narrow valleys next to river. (when the the river floods, they are screwed).

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Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by kurupt213 on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @12:22PM (#32652169)

This is the way people have always lived (except for very modern times)

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Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by bobthepanda on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @12:32PM (#32652279)

I think they mean to say that comparing the Pakistani figures (which include low population mountains and deserts) to Belgium (which is pretty much entirely arable and flat as a pancake) is a bit silly.

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Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by kurupt213 on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @03:16PM (#32653927)

Human societies have always crowded riverbanks. Until very recent times.

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Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by bobthepanda on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @08:31PM (#32656917)

Both statements can be true at the same time

* this is a common pattern of settlement

* the different geographies of two countries make a very simple (population / land area) density figure misleading, because Belgium is nearly 100% riverbank or floodplain and Pakistan is not

This is such a known problem that the US Census already has a different density measurement method, population-weighted density: https://www.smartcitiesdive.com/ex/sustainablecitiescollecti...

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Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by seszett on Wednesday August 31, 2022 @03:52AM (#32659530)

Although Belgium certainly isn't as rugged as Pakistan, it's far from flat and especially in Wallonia population is very concentrated along one valley (the sillon Sambre et Meuse):

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kobe-Boussauw/publicati...

As a result, the region has a population density of 240/km² (only slightly less than Pakistan) but about 2/3rds of the population is in this valley representing 1/16th of the area of Wallonia. Flanders is mostly flat and more evenly settled.

This is actually more similar than I expected to the population distribution in Pakistan, with Punjab being a flat plain with an evenly distributed population, and the rest of the country being mostly settled along one river. By the way, Belgium also suffered a large flooding event last year in this valley, although nowhere near as deadly as what is happening in Pakistan.

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Re:A third of Pakistan is underwater from floods, climate ch... by selimthegrim on Tuesday August 30, 2022 @02:23PM (#32653425)

*uninhabitable

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