The catalog of climate disasters affecting my country is endless. Glaciers in the Hindu Kush, Himalayas, and Karakoram in northern Pakistan are melting at an accelerated rate. If emissions trends and temperature increases continue unabated, these mountains could lose a third to two-thirds of their ice fields by 2100. The result will be catastrophic: by 2050, increased melting will result in landslides, severe flooding, and dam breaks. and soil erosion. After the melting of the glaciers, drought and famine will follow. The horror of our coming era will be born of heat, fire and ice. A few years ago I was in a village in Sindh after it was devastated by a massive flood. Thousands of people were displaced overnight. The blistering heat drenched the faces of the displaced young women in sweat as thick as glycerin. I wasn’t sure which would be more deadly – drowning or the heat. Not far from this drowned village in Sindh is the town of Jacobabad, where summer temperatures reach as high as 124 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the hottest city in Asia, if not the world. Jacobabad has long power outages. His poor die as they toil in the fields. The increase in temperature brought plague after plague to rural areas. This year has brought Pakistan its most devastating locust infestation in nearly 30 years. The insect destroyed the entire crop, causing the government to declare a national emergency as winter crops were decimated, resulting in $2.5 billion in losses. The locusts descend like a haze, so thick that from a distance it looked like a fine pink mist. Due to heavy rains and cyclones, there has been an unprecedented breeding of locusts in the United Arab Emirates. They traveled towards our region from the Arabian Peninsula. It is a climate war between the big industrial superpowers, the financial predators who have polluted and poisoned our planet for profit, and the poor who have done the least damage but will pay all the consequences It is a climate war between the big industrial superpowers, the financial predators who have polluted and poisoned our planet for profit, and the poor who have done the least damage but will pay all the consequences. Pakistan is responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, but its people bear the brunt of the world’s deadliest polluters. If nothing is done to mitigate global greenhouse gas emissions, 800 million people in South Asia will be at risk of increased poverty, homelessness and hunger, according to the World Bank. The World Bank has named Karachi as one of the planet’s hot spots. Temperatures in South Asia are estimated to rise by 3.9 degrees Fahrenheit over the next 30 years. Karachi is already struggling with poor road connectivity, terrible educational facilities and limited market access. His already pathetic public health system will collapse. The rich may buy electricity generators, pay for water tanks and rely on expensive hospitals, but the poor will continue to be devastated. The current government of Pakistan talks about climate change, but it is a talk that has come too late, without serious action. In 1947, 33 percent of Pakistan was forest. Today, we only have about 4 percent tree cover, all because of deforestation. This devastation, largely caused by illegal logging by mafias, has silted up our waterways and left us defenceless against floods and storms. The country can easily be whipped into hysteria over alleged religious offences committed by minorities and can endlessly debate the modesty and honour of women, but it pays no attention to the raging and imminent dangers of climate change. The rain in Karachi, like the rising temperatures, is a result of the raging climate war. We sat and watched cities die: slowly. We didn’t watch closely enough when the villages sank and fought. But now it is clear that this is how the planet burns, one fire after another, one degree hotter, until finally all that remains are the chalk bones of ancient saints in Karachi, buried on the vanished cliffs. The writer is an A level student at Aitchison College, Lahore, who is enthusiastic about economics and public policy