Climate change is not an abstract debate for Sindh—it is a lived crisis. While global discussions increasingly frame climate change through the lens of adaptation opportunities and green transitions, Sindh continues to experience its most destructive consequences. Climate change manifests as repeated disasters that question many institutions, disrupt development gains, and deepen poverty. Sindh province faces not only environmental issues but also a policy and implementation deficit, where delayed and untimely preparedness and reactive responses are increasing losses of lives and ecosystems, and dealing a direct hit to the economy.

Even in 2026, Pakistan has a national climate policy framework and the Climate Change Act (2017), along with enhanced planning through the National Climate Change Policy and the Sindh Climate Change Policy 2022. However, a lack of implementation at the local level remains an urgent concern. Sindh—with its unique ecology, socio-economic vulnerabilities, and cultural wisdom—requires more joint strategies that connect national policies with ground realities.

Sindh has not truly adopted a forward-looking strategy to empower communities by engaging government preparedness. Local knowledge is often used in the wrong direction, and international best practices have been missed; these remain key shortcomings. As a result, we continue on the same path and suffer every year—often more than before due to population growth. We have not learned from past disasters, including the floods of 1992, and now in 2026, our strategies remain largely unchanged. We are not learning from others and, in many ways, we have lost our own wisdom. During the British era, there was a strong system for safety, floodwater routes,........

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