NATURE retaliates in its own manner.

The nation is seeing this manifest as extreme floods. Pakistan’s battle with floods has become devastating in recent years. Seasonal flooding has always been a threat to the country due to its geography, which is centered on the Indus River. Nevertheless, what was once a predictable problem has now morphed into a never-ending disaster. The scope and severity of floods are now unprecedented, a result of climate change and failing infrastructure.

The severity of the crisis is highlighted by historical events from the last decade. More than 20 million people were displaced by the 2010 floods, which also caused almost 2,000 deaths and around $10 billion in damages. According to the World Bank, the 2022 disaster was much worse: Pakistan saw one-third of its land underwater, impacting 33 million people, with over $30 billion in damages. The 2025 floods, unlike previous ones, validated expert warnings of “climate volatility”. The erratic cycle of droughts, glacial melt and heavy rain appears in rapid succession, showing this instability.

Pakistan lies at the base of the northern Himalayas, home to over 7,000 glaciers. Global warming is causing glaciers to melt regularly, which leads to glacial lake outburst floods. Meanwhile, Pakistan has been losing its natural defenses against floods. Logging, farming and urbanization have destroyed forests and wetlands that absorb rainfall and slow runoff. Rivers are free to swell with little resistance because the country’s upstream watersheds are dangerously bare, with forest cover less........

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