The Pakistan Meteorological Department has issued an alert for heavy rains and stormy winds across the country, signaling the onset of the monsoon season. While rain provides relief from heatwaves and is vital for agriculture, poor planning, low climate adaptation budgets, and inadequate infrastructure turn this blessing into a national tragedy each year.
Recent Pre-Monsoon Rains Cause Deaths and Injuries
A recent incident in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa underscores the lack of preparedness: just one day of pre-monsoon heavy rainfall resulted in seven deaths and over 30 injuries. Normal life was paralyzed due to roof collapses, broken power lines, and water accumulation on roads. This demonstrates that government claims of readiness are not matched by on-the-ground reality.
Climate Challenges and Regional Forecasts
Pakistan faces major challenges from changing global climate patterns, including delays in the positive Indian Ocean Dipole and El Nino effects. Some regions—particularly Punjab, Sindh, and southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa—are forecast to receive below-normal monsoon rains, while other parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir will experience intense temperatures, glacier retreat, glacial lake outburst floods, droughts, landslides, heavy showers, and flood crises. This variability threatens agricultural productivity and increases the risk of flash flooding and pest outbreaks.
Urban Flooding: A Permanent Scourge
Major cities across Pakistan are in dire condition due to ongoing development projects and pretentious beautification efforts. Roads are damaged, sewage systems are dilapidated, and storm drains are clogged with garbage. Illegal encroachments on drain banks have narrowed natural water channels. Even just two hours of heavy rain can turn a mega city into an urban floodplain. Urban flooding has become a permanent scourge, causing economic losses worth billions of rupees and leading to dozens of deaths from electrocution due to damaged underground wires.
Lack of Preparedness and Accountability
Neither the government nor institutions are ready to accept the ground reality. When it rains, city roads turn into rivers, traffic is suspended for hours, and water enters homes and shops. WASA, metropolitan corporations, and district administrations submit satisfactory reports annually, but early rains expose the weakness of their claims. Authorities often make videos and photos for show, while inefficiency, mismanagement, and incompetence remain hidden from the public.
Urgent Measures Needed
The time has come for provincial governments and district administrations to abandon traditional laziness and initiate emergency measures. Immediate reconstruction and improvement of drainage systems are essential. All large and small rainwater drains and sewer lines must be cleaned using heavy machinery. Illegal encroachments on waterways should be demolished without discrimination. District administrations must mobilize resources under the Rain Emergency Plan, ensuring the presence of large dewatering pumps in sensitive and low-lying areas, along with fuel or generators to operate them.
Preventive Approach Can Save Lives
Natural disasters cannot be completely prevented, but other countries have shown that timely planning, effective management, and proactive measures can reduce loss of life and property by up to 90 percent. Pakistan's approach has been reactive rather than preventive. If the government and relevant departments remain silent spectators, the coming weeks may prove very difficult. The monsoon season's knock is a final warning. To save people from becoming climate refugees, federal, provincial, and local governments must come on the same page. All relevant institutions must enter the field immediately, setting aside political expediency and financial pretexts. Protecting lives and property is the state's first responsibility, and negligence in this duty is criminal. Time is short, and history will not forgive those who fail to heed climate warnings.
