The nature of the news cycle is such that a disaster last week quickly fades, and one that occurred two months ago might as well not have happened. The Pakistan floods, did happen, however, and even though almost half a million people are back in their flood-ravaged homes, at least 50,000 remain in tent camps, and with the complete loss of this year’s harvest, recovery is going to take a very long time.

This update from the AP:

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan said Tuesday that most victims of the unprecedented floods that struck the country last summer have now returned to their homes, with only a small portion still living in makeshift camps in the worst-hit, southern Sindh province.

The country’s disaster management agency said the latest data shows that slightly less than 50,000 people are currently staying in camps in Sindh, compared to half a million who were living in tents there in September.

The record-breaking floods — which were worsened by climate change, that hit Pakistan last summer — killed 1,735 people and displaced 33 million. In Sindh alone, the floods affected 12 million people and killed 796.

Pakistan has asked the international community to scale up aid for flood survivors, now threatened by the upcoming winter. Last month, the World Bank estimated that the floods caused $40 billion in damages.

Harsh winter weather could worsen the misery of flood victims — if food and other supplies were not delivered quickly.

Cash-strapped Pakistan was already facing a serious financial crisis before the abnormally heavy monsoon rains hit in mid-June, triggering the floods that at one point left a third of the country’s territory submerged.

The disastrous floods in Pakistan can hardly be captured in pictures or words. As of this writing, about 1300 people have been killed, with perhaps 1/3 of them children. 33 million people affected, more than a million houses destroyed. The entire agricultural crop (fields and animals) wiped out. Disease rampant. And the rains have not yet stopped. All of this as the world already faces food shortages because of the war in Europe.

The Pakistan story is that much more devastating for your editor: I (Ed Brown) grew up in the Sindh province (in the yellow area in the map below).

There are plenty of opportunities to donate for relief efforts – we’re sure many of you have done so already. Beyond that, this story obviously shows the importance of increasing our efforts communicate to the global church and human society as a whole that climate change is not a future problem, but a present threat.

May God have mercy.

It’s hard to keep up with the climate news these days. A quick search of flooding in Google News gives the following headlines in just the last week:

• Sidney, Australia
• Bangla Desh
• Pakistan
• Nicaragua
• Brazil
• Philippines
• Ghana
• China

And a summary story on the connections between flooding and climate change from a Research Fellow at Colorado State University:

Although floods are a natural occurrence, human-caused climate change is making severe flooding events like this more common. I study how climate change affects hydrology and flooding. In mountainous regions, three effects of climate change in particular are creating higher flood risks: more intense precipitation, shifting snow and rain patterns and the effects of wildfires on the landscape.

From the we-bet-you-didn’t-know-this department: A report from NASA (here; in laymen’s language here) reminds us that there are irregularities in the moon’s orbit (“wobbles” to the common person) on an 18.6 year cycle that affect earth’s tides, with half of the cycle producing lower-than-normal tides, and the other half resulting in higher-than-normal ones. This has been known since the 18th century, so it’s not exactly new news.

What is new, apparently, is that the higher-than-normal phase of this “wobble” that will occur in the 2030’s is going to coincide with the climate-change driven sea level rises . The combination may produce regular devastating coastal flooding:

Led by the members of the NASA Sea Level Change Science Team from the University of Hawaii, the new study shows that high tides will exceed known flooding thresholds around the country more often. What’s more, the floods will sometimes occur in clusters lasting a month or longer, depending on the positions of the Moon, Earth, and the Sun. When the Moon and Earth line up in specific ways with each other and the Sun, the resulting gravitational pull and the ocean’s corresponding response may leave city dwellers coping with floods every day or two.

“Low-lying areas near sea level are increasingly at risk and suffering due to the increased flooding, and it will only get worse,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “The combination of the Moon’s gravitational pull, rising sea levels, and climate change will continue to exacerbate coastal flooding on our coastlines and across the world. NASA’s Sea Level Change Team is providing crucial information so that we can plan, protect, and prevent damage to the environment and people’s livelihoods affected by flooding.”