Extreme Weather Creating Security Concerns: Haqqani Hussain

Pakistan News,: US climate scientists say they expect more heavy rains and droughts in the near future. Weather experts were speaking before a panel of US lawmakers in Washington.?? Hussain Haqqani, Pakistani ambassador to the U.S. says extreme weather in Pakistan this year is creating security concerns that could extend beyond the borders of his country.

In Pakistan and Russia, in China and the United States, torrential rains and severe heat have killed thousands of people and left many more homeless.

Appearing before U.S. lawmakers, these climate scientists said heavy rains have been increasing around the world, causing devastating floods.

One reason — the planet is getting hotter, and warmer air holds more water. Michael Wehner, a climate scientist from California,. says he expects extreme weather to become the norm. “The intensity of future rare heat waves are projected to be unprecedented with temperatures to be higher than it has ever been seen. I expect that daily high temperature records will continue to be broken at high rates across the United States and much of the world in the foreseeable future,” he said.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the United States, Husain Haqqani, says this year his country experienced the worst monsoon rains in its history.? At their peak, he says more than 20 percent of Pakistan was underwater. “Unfortunately, the country is getting hotter. The summers are lengthening and the winters are shrinking and becoming milder. Monsoons, the main source of water in our rivers, are becoming totally unpredictable,” he said.

Ambassador Haqqani says the flooding in Pakistan is also causing security concerns. “There is the prospect and possibility of insurgent and extremist groups taking advantage of the circumstances,” he said.

The ambassador says Pakistani security forces have been