Shafaqna Pakistan | by SA Shehzad- After recording the two hottest years in human history in 2023 and 2024, the planet shows no signs of cooling. In fact, the trajectory is deeply worrying. The United Nations has issued a stark warning: there is now a 70 percent chance that global average temperatures between 2025 and 2029 will exceed the critical 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C) threshold set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
What was once considered a distant, avoidable danger is now on the immediate horizon. Climate experts believe that this probability could rise to 100 percent within the next two to three years—effectively rendering the central promise of the Paris Agreement obsolete in just over a decade. This failure comes at a devastating cost to the planet, with half the global population experiencing at least an additional month of extreme heat in the past year alone, driven directly by human-caused climate change.
This suffering, however, is not evenly distributed. Much like other global injustices, the impacts of climate change are borne disproportionately by the Global South—home to the world’s most vulnerable communities. Countries like Pakistan, which have contributed minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions, are among those suffering the worst consequences. The unfolding climate disaster is a textbook case of global inequality, where those least responsible pay the highest price.
In Pakistan, recent extreme weather events offer a grim preview of a future shaped by climate instability. Karachi, already familiar with deadly heatwaves, has been grappling with searing temperatures unusually early in the season, beginning in May. This heat has compounded the city’s chronic power shortages, worsening loadshedding and further straining already fragile infrastructure. Simultaneously, parts of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have been battered by violent rainstorms and wind events, leading to the deaths of at least 32 people.
These contrasting yet equally destructive weather extremes—scorching heat in the south and deadly storms in the north—are now part of a new normal. With summer only just beginning, it is likely that the severity and frequency of such weather events will continue to escalate. This is what life beyond the 1.5°C threshold looks like: a nation caught in overlapping climate emergencies with limited capacity to respond.
In light of this, Pakistan must urgently prioritize climate resilience and adaptation. Strengthening early warning systems and emergency response mechanisms should be at the top of the national agenda. The country’s urban planning also requires serious rethinking. Many of our cities are concrete jungles—densely built, poorly ventilated, and lacking green cover.
These design flaws amplify the impact of heatwaves and make urban living increasingly unsustainable. Controlling urban sprawl, creating more green spaces, and constructing buildings that can withstand extreme weather conditions are no longer optional—they are essential.
Moreover, Pakistan must overhaul its systems for distributing essential resources during crises. Even under normal circumstances, access to clean water, electricity, and food is uneven and unreliable. In times of disaster, these weaknesses become life-threatening. Addressing these gaps will require investment, planning, and above all, political will. Yet, even these are reactive measures—designed to reduce suffering, not to prevent it.
This means a lot of death, destruction and general suffering is simply inevitable at this point. The large cuts to global greenhouse gas emissions needed to actually dodge the climate crisis never materialised, and with a climate change-sceptic now helming the world’s top per-capita emitter, things are not going to get better on this front. This does not mean that Pakistan should not fight for the climate reparations it is owed by the wealthy high-emitting countries on the global stage, only that it is unwise to count on this strategy to achieve too much. Ultimately, it will be our own efforts that make the biggest difference.
Source: Shafaqna Pakistan
Note: Shafaqna do not endorse the views expressed in the article