When the Weather Turns Against You: Pakistan’s Climate Reality Check – Muhammad Hunzla

When the Weather Turns Against You: Pakistan’s Climate Reality Check-  Muhammad Hunzla

Here’s something that keeps me up at night: Pakistan ranks as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change on the Global Climate Risk Index, yet contributes less than 1% to global greenhouse gas emissions. It’s like being punished for a crime you didn’t commit – except the punishment affects 240 million people.

I’ve been tracking Pakistan’s climate story for years now, and 2024 has been particularly brutal. While the world debates carbon taxes and emission targets, Pakistan is living the consequences in real-time. This isn’t about future projections anymore; it’s about survival today.

 

 

 

The Heat That Kills (But Doesn’t Make Headlines)

Let’s talk about something the official statistics won’t tell you. The punishing heatwaves of 2022 and 2024 marked new highs in temperature across much of Pakistan. Despite low official death tolls, many people’s health was adversely impacted by the heatwaves, with families losing relatives to heat-related deaths that often go unreported.

The problem isn’t just the temperature – it’s the infrastructure’s complete inability to cope. Walk through Karachi during a May heatwave, and you’ll see what I mean. Power grids buckle under the demand for cooling, leaving entire neighborhoods without electricity precisely when they need it most. Hospitals overflow with heat exhaustion cases while their own generators struggle to keep air conditioning running.

What’s particularly insidious is how heat affects different communities unequally. Construction workers, street vendors, and farmers can’t simply retreat indoors. They’re forced to work in conditions that would shut down offices in cooler countries. I’ve spoken to laborers who describe feeling dizzy and nauseous by 10 AM – but they can’t afford to stop working.

The mental health impact deserves attention too. Pakistan’s population is experiencing often overlooked mental health impacts from climate change, with young people especially affected by what psychologists call “eco-anxiety.” When your future feels uncertain because of forces completely beyond your control, it changes how you view everything.

When Nature Turns Violent: The New Flood Reality

The devastating floods of 2022 had a direct impact on over 30 million people in Pakistan, resulting in loss of lives, damage to public infrastructure, and displacement from homes. But here’s what the numbers don’t capture: the psychological trauma of watching your entire life get washed away in a matter of hours.

I remember talking to a farmer from Sindh whose family had worked the same land for four generations. The 2022 floods didn’t just destroy his crops – they changed the soil composition so dramatically that traditional farming methods no longer work. He’s essentially having to learn agriculture all over again at age 55.

The flooding pattern has become unpredictable in ways that make traditional wisdom useless. Farmers used to plan around monsoon seasons they could anticipate. Now, Pakistan’s northern and southern provinces started 2024 with rising temperatures and prolonged droughts, with agricultural heartlands in Sindh and Balochistan feeling the strain of water shortages, followed by sudden, devastating downpours.

This isn’t just about rural areas either. Urban flooding in cities like Lahore and Karachi reveals how unprepared our infrastructure is for extreme weather events. Drainage systems designed for a different climate reality become death traps when overwhelmed.

The Economic Ripple Effect Nobody Talks About

Here’s where it gets really complicated. Climate impacts don’t just affect the environment – they’re reshaping Pakistan’s entire economic landscape in ways that government officials barely acknowledge. A complex mix of financial disorder and a looming market debt crisis have completely overshadowed environmental issues, creating a vicious cycle.

Think about it: when floods destroy crops, food prices spike. When heat waves damage infrastructure, repair costs drain budgets that could be used for climate adaptation. When droughts force rural populations into cities, it strains urban resources and creates new political tensions.

The agricultural sector, which employs about 40% of Pakistan’s workforce, is essentially playing Russian roulette with weather patterns. Cotton yields have become unpredictable, wheat harvests are threatened by both drought and flooding, and livestock suffers from heat stress that reduces milk production and increases mortality rates.

But there’s an interesting twist in the renewable energy story. Pakistan aims for 60% renewable energy by 2030, which will require considerable effort and investment. The irony is that climate vulnerability might actually accelerate this transition – not because of environmental concerns, but because traditional energy infrastructure keeps failing during extreme weather events.

The Response That’s Both Promising and Insufficient

The government isn’t completely asleep at the wheel. The “Green Pakistan Upscaling Programme Phase-1” is a project by Government of Pakistan with the total cost of 125.1843 billion, launched in 2018. It’s an ambitious reforestation effort that sounds impressive on paper.

However, I’ve noticed a disconnect between large-scale programs and ground-level implementation. Tree planting initiatives make for great photo opportunities, but without proper maintenance and community involvement, many saplings don’t survive their first summer. The program needs better monitoring and local ownership to succeed.

What’s more promising is the growing awareness among Pakistani youth and civil society organizations. They’re not waiting for government action – they’re creating community-level solutions, from rooftop solar installations to flood early warning systems using mobile technology.

The international climate finance piece is crucial here. Pakistan is engaging with the Green Climate Fund and other mechanisms, but the process is frustratingly slow while climate impacts accelerate. There’s a fundamental mismatch between the urgency of the crisis and the pace of institutional response.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Adaptation

Here’s what nobody wants to admit: some changes are irreversible, and Pakistan needs to start planning for a fundamentally different future. Coastal communities in Sindh and Balochistan will likely need to relocate as sea levels rise. Traditional crop varieties may no longer be viable in many regions. Water-scarce areas might become uninhabitable during summer months.

This doesn’t mean giving up – it means getting smart about adaptation. Bangladesh has developed remarkable expertise in living with floods; Pakistan could learn from their experiences. Israel has turned water scarcity into innovation opportunities; similar approaches could work in Balochistan.

The key is building resilience at the community level while pushing for systemic change at the national level. This means everything from redesigning cities to handle extreme weather to developing drought-resistant crop varieties to creating early warning systems that actually reach vulnerable populations.

The Global Movement: Organizations Leading the Charge

Here’s what gives me hope despite all the grim statistics: there’s an unprecedented mobilization of organizations worldwide tackling climate change head-on. Climate change is a global emergency that goes beyond national borders, requiring coordinated solutions at all levels and international cooperation, and we’re finally seeing that coordination take shape.

The UN system continues to be the backbone of global climate action. The Paris Agreement aims to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, while the UN Environment Programme supports countries through adaptation, mitigation, forest protection, and climate finance. But what’s interesting is how grassroots organizations are filling gaps that traditional institutions can’t address.

Take the corporate world, for instance. The Science Based Targets initiative has become the de facto gold standard for businesses to set credible targets to address the climate crisis. Companies are no longer just making vague sustainability promises – they’re committing to measurable, science-backed emission reductions.

United People Global: Turning Ideas Into Climate Action

Now, here’s where it gets personal and practical. I’ve been following United People Global (UPG) for a while, and what strikes me about their approach is how they’ve cracked the code on something most organizations struggle with: turning individual concern into collective action.

United People Global’s mission is to encourage and enable people from all walks of life to contribute to making the world a better place, with activities supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. But unlike many global organizations that operate from the top-down, UPG works through what they call four pillars: awareness, belief, collaboration, and community.

What’s particularly clever about their model is the UPG Sustainability Leadership program. It’s described as “the world’s largest training” program that mobilizes individuals and organizations to support positive citizen leadership on sustainability. Instead of waiting for governments or corporations to solve climate problems, they’re creating an army of sustainability leaders at the grassroots level.

I’ve seen some of their project outcomes, and they’re impressively diverse. Projects range from tree planting and clean water advocacy in Rwanda to supporting refugee farmers in Nebraska, with capacity building for farmer organizations using participatory approaches to apply ecological principles. The beauty is in the local relevance – they’re not imposing one-size-fits-all solutions.

The financial commitment is serious too. UPG offers $50,000 sustainability project support grants to visionary leaders, enabling them to drive impactful change. That’s real money backing real projects, not just feel-good initiatives.

What Makes This Approach Different

Here’s what I find refreshing about UPG’s model compared to traditional climate organizations: they understand that climate action needs to be deeply personal before it can be effectively global. They focus on including people who would otherwise have limited ways to contribute to improving their communities, creating a positive climate of trust that serves as a public good.

This matters because climate change often feels overwhelming and abstract. When people can see their direct contribution to tree planting in their neighborhood or water conservation in their community, it builds the confidence needed for larger-scale engagement.

The timing is perfect too. With COP30 taking place in Brazil in November 2025, there’s growing momentum for bottom-up climate solutions. Organizations like UPG are proving that you don’t need to wait for international agreements to start making a difference.

The Pakistan Connection

Bringing this back to Pakistan’s situation, organizations like UPG represent exactly the kind of approach that could work here. Pakistan needs climate solutions that engage communities directly, build local capacity, and create economic opportunities alongside environmental benefits.

Imagine if Pakistan had thousands of UPG-trained sustainability leaders working on climate adaptation projects across the country. Instead of waiting for top-down policy changes, these leaders could be implementing flood early warning systems, promoting drought-resistant farming techniques, and building community resilience.

The model works because it recognizes something politicians often miss: people want to be part of the solution, not just victims of the problem.

What Happens Next

Pakistan’s climate story is still being written, and the next few years are crucial. The country stands at a crossroads: continue reacting to climate disasters as they happen, or start building the infrastructure and institutions needed for a climate-resilient future.

The international community has a role here too. Climate finance isn’t charity – it’s an investment in global stability. Organizations like United People Global are showing how to bridge the gap between global resources and local action. When climate change displaces millions of people or destroys agricultural regions, the effects ripple far beyond Pakistan’s borders.

For individuals reading this, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere, the lesson is clear: climate change isn’t a distant threat – it’s reshaping lives and communities right now. The question isn’t whether we’ll adapt, but whether we’ll adapt thoughtfully and equitably, or chaotically and unfairly.

Pakistan’s experience offers lessons for other vulnerable countries while demanding urgent action from the global community. The climate crisis is here, it’s personal, and it’s time we started treating it that way. Organizations like UPG are proving that when you combine global vision with local action, real change becomes possible.