In Pakistan, climate change is not a distant threat\u2014it\u2019s a present and undeniable reality, impacting lives and ecosystems alike. From devastating floods to rising temperatures, the signs are unfolding all around the country.
\nFrom the recent flash flooding in the Swat river, which swept away a tourist family, to sudden cloud bursts, record breaking heatwave and prolonged droughts, the nature seems to be furious. The violent weather events are linked to human induced climate change.
\nIn the monsoon season of 2022, flash floods had submerged entire villages and towns, killing over 1700 people, and causing damages to the tune of about US$40 billion. The flooding was the world\u2019s deadliest since the 2020 South Asian floods and described as the worst in the country\u2019s history.
\nThe current monsoon also left a trail of death and destruction. The tragic incident in Swat river, flash flooding in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, flood devastation in Punjab and Sindh provinces, melting glaciers, water shortages, deforestation, and rising pollution are calls for urgent climate action.
\nPeople living in flood-prone areas, like in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are left defenseless every monsoon. Their homes, crops, and children are washed away\u2014and they keep on the move on until the next disaster.
\nThe Green Youth Movement (GYM)\u2014a government initiative for youth-led environmental action\u2014organizes campaigns, seminars, and plantation drives mainly to create awareness and raise defenses to tackle the growing impacts of climate change.
\nEvery year, billions of rupees are spent on awareness sessions, posters, colorful presentations and speeches, but the recurring weather-related devastation calls for serious climate action.
\nThe government often announces plantation drives and green campaigns, but they are mostly short-lived. Environmental laws are poorly enforced. Industrial waste pollutes rivers. Urban expansion continues without planning.
\nThe truth is the people and the government will have to act together to ensure a safer, cleaner, and livable future. The government will have to take tangible steps\u2014like enforcing laws, protecting forests, improving disaster response systems, and investing in climate education and renewable energy.
\nCommunities should come together to clean their surroundings, plant trees, and help each other during emergencies.
\nLet\u2019s not wait for another flood, another child to die, or another Swat to suffer. Let\u2019s stop talking and start doing. Because nature won\u2019t wait\u2014and neither should we.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Pakistan, climate change is not a distant threat\u2014it\u2019s a present and undeniable reality, impacting lives and ecosystems alike. From devastating floods to rising temperatures, the signs are unfolding all around the country. From the recent flash flooding in the Swat river, which swept away a tourist family, to sudden cloud bursts, record breaking heatwave …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":85109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-85108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=85108"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85108\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85110,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/85108\/revisions\/85110"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/85109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=85108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=85108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=85108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}