ACCORDING to experts, a cloudburst occurs when warm, moisture-laden air from the sea collides with mountains, rises, cools, and condenses into water-filled clouds.
When these clouds accumulate more water than they can sustain, they suddenly release it, causing intense rainfall. During the monsoon season, such events become more likely due to moisture-rich winds, and climate change — by warming seas — is further intensifying them. This is exactly what happened recently in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where multiple cloudbursts caused severe loss of life and property.
Everyone seems helpless in the face of climate change, which is causing immense human and economic losses. According to the latest 2025 report by the reputable international organization German Watch, which works on climate and environmental issues, Pakistan has now reached the number one spot on the list of countries most affected by climate change. Until 2020, Pakistan was ranked fifth among the top ten countries affected by climate change. Although Pakistan contributes less than 1% to global carbon emissions, it is bearing the worst consequences of environmental destruction.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth’s temperature has increased by 1.1°C. It is no secret that if serious efforts are not made to stop this rise, global temperatures could increase by 3.2°C to 3.9°C by the end of this century. If this disaster occurs, the consequences will be unimaginably devastating. Weather patterns will become more extreme, water shortages will arise, some regions will face floods while others will suffer from droughts. Rising sea levels will destroy both marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
To prevent this situation, it is essential to reduce toxic gas emissions by 7.6% by 2030 so that the increase in global temperature can be limited to 1.5°C. According to UN climate experts, the release of greenhouse gases has led to an unusual increase in Earth’s temperature since 1990. A 2018 report stated that human activities led to the emission of 370 million tons of carbon dioxide, with Pakistan contributing around 250,000 tons. Pakistan ranks 135th on the list of greenhouse gas-emitting countries, yet it is the only country in the world facing all types of threats linked to climate change. With a population exceeding 250 million, Pakistan is experiencing a rise in all kinds of environmental and climate-related events due to rapid population growth.
Scientists have long warned that by 2030 the world will face dramatic and unprecedented environmental changes, yet recent cloudburst incidents show these shifts are already unfolding in 2025. Since the catastrophic floods of 2010, Pakistan has endured flooding almost every year. Heatwaves are intensifying, glaciers in the north are melting rapidly and the resulting lakes often burst, causing destruction downstream. With glaciers retreating at alarming rates, the risk of overflowing rivers and subsequent floods is steadily increasing.
According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, by 2050 millions of people in Pakistan and Bangladesh will be living in regions considered highly vulnerable to climate and environmental changes. Unfortunately, this challenge is no longer distant — it has already begun to unfold. In Swat and several other areas, communities continue to reside in zones extremely prone not only to recurring floods but also to increasingly frequent and destructive cloudbursts.
—The writer is contributing columnist, based in Faisalabad.
