KARACHI: Pakistan is grappling with one of its most severe heatwaves on record, with soaring temperatures exposing deeper threats to the country’s environmental and water security. Renowned sustainable development expert Prof Dr Muhammad Ismail Kumbhar has cautioned that the current heatwave is a dire warning of an accelerating climate emergency.
“This is not just a weather anomaly—it’s a signal of systemic collapse,” Dr Kumbhar said, highlighting the threats to Pakistan’s food systems, water supply, and energy resilience.
While global institutions like Imperial College London and the University of Hawaii are actively researching Pakistan’s climate vulnerabilities, local response remains alarmingly disengaged. Dr Kumbhar particularly flagged the silent crisis of groundwater depletion, citing Islamabad where water levels have plummeted from 70 feet to over 400 feet.
He warned that unchecked climate change is triggering cascading effects, including glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), deforestation, sea-level rise threatening coastal cities like Karachi, and river drying. “Pakistan is teetering on the brink of ecological collapse,” he said.
Referring to the 2015 Karachi heatwave that killed over 1,200 people, Dr Kumbhar stressed that the increasing frequency of such events reflects a lack of climate preparedness. With red alerts now issued across Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan, he urged the formation of a national climate resilience strategy that integrates environmental and water governance into all development frameworks.
“Without unified, urgent action from universities, think tanks, policymakers, and civil society, we risk irreversible damage,” he concluded.
Story by Shahid Shah
