Human-induced climate change is one of the biggest enemies of Pakistan. As per the GermanWatch’s Climate Risk Index 2025, Pakistan suffered the most in the world due to the negative impacts of extreme weather events in 2022. The United Nations (UN) describes climate change as long-term changes in temperatures and weather patterns. Such a change in climate can be both natural and human-induced. A natural change in climate can occur due to either a change in the sun’s activity or because of a large volcanic eruption. However, human-induced climate change happens when human activities, like as increased carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions, negatively affect the climate and cause it to change. The emitted greenhouse gases increase the natural concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere. For example, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) points out that our atmosphere now has 50% more carbon dioxide gas when compared with the year 1750. Consequently, this increased greenhouse gas concentration traps more heat, slows heat loss to space and increases global temperatures. Unfortunately, from the mid-18th century, our unsustainable reliance on burning fossil fuels (i.e. coal, oil and gas) at the global level to foster our economic growth is the primary reason for our previously stable climate to change.
Do you know that the non-saline rainwater, when merged with underground saline water, reduces the salinity of groundwater and, as a result, makes it suitable for irrigation use?
As per the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Pakistan has emitted only 0.93% of the global greenhouse gases. However, it is deeply affected by climate change. Unfortunately, the World Bank Group points out that Pakistan is expected to lose at least 18 – 20% of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050 due to severe climate-related incidents, environmental deterioration and air pollution. Thus, there is a dire need for us to prepare our beloved Pakistan against climate change. It is crucial to point out here that Pakistan’s cities would be the battleground in our fight against climate change, and it is where we would either win or lose our fight against the human-induced climate change. We must do all it takes to beat climate change and to make Pakistan more climate resilient against the dire consequences of torrential rainfall.
According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, Pakistan experienced record-breaking rainfall in 2022, where the total rainfall was 78% above average at 526.9 mm. The average temperature in Pakistan was 0.84 degrees Celsius above average, and the wettest day was recorded on 19 August 2022 at Padidan, which received 355 mm of rain in 24 hours. Similarly, in 2023, Pakistan again received a total rainfall of 344.1 mm, which was 15.6% above average. Again, the average temperature was 0.51 degrees Celsius above average, and the wettest day occurred on 26 June 2023 in Lahore, which received 226 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. In 2024, Pakistan once again received total rainfall of 390 mm, which was 31% above average. The average temperature was again 0.71 degrees Celsius above average, and the wettest day occurred on 1 August 2024 in Lahore, which received 337 mm of rainfall in 24 hours. Unfortunately, on 27 August 2025, Sialkot received a record-breaking rainfall of 363.5 mm in 24 hours that broke its previous record of receiving 339.7mm rainfall in 24 hours on 06 August 1976.
A question that arises here is how we can increase Pakistan’s climate resilience against torrential rains. The answer lies in managing our available resources in a more purpose-oriented manner. According to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), Bhungroo is a water management technique that injects and stores excess rainfall underground and takes it out for use in dry spells. A Bhungroo acts as a massive underground reservoir that can hold up to 40 million litres of rainwater. Do you know that the non-saline rainwater, when merged with underground saline water, reduces the salinity of groundwater and, as a result, makes it suitable for irrigation use? Thus, the Bhungroo water management technique might prove to be extremely beneficial for farmers in Sindh province, where salinity is more persistent, as per the World Bank Group. Now imagine if hundreds of thousands of Bhungroo water management systems are constructed across the length and breadth of Pakistan. It would certainly help our agricultural sector in reducing its reliance on underground water and use more surface water for irrigation purposes.
Similarly, there is a dire need for us to create an artificial lake outside each major city in Pakistan that we can recharge during the monsoon. We can divert urban flash floods to these artificial lakes and store the rainwater there. By doing so, we will prevent infrastructural damage and loss of precious human lives due to flash floods, reduce our reliance on underground water and will also be able to increase our surface water availability. For the rest of the year, we can recycle our used water in urban areas through renewable energy technologies and divert the recycled water to recharge these artificial lakes. Do you know that Tarmac is a UK-based company that works with sustainable construction materials? It has invented a creative solution named Topmix Permeable that can be applied to conventional roads. After application, it transforms conventional roads into a water-absorbing machine and thus helps in mitigating urban floods. Topmix Permeable can absorb 4,000 litres of water in a minute. Now imagine if conventional urban roads in Pakistan were paved with Topmix Permeable and would absorb 4,000 litres of rainwater each minute during the monsoon season. It will facilitate us in reducing the intensity of urban floods, and it will also help us in recharging aquifers in our urban areas. We must also prepare our rivers to store water during the monsoon season. We can clear our rivers of sand and silt during the dry season, and can strengthen the riverbanks by planting more trees and grass to prevent erosion. We can also construct micro-dams on our rivers to store more of the monsoon rainfall, to increase our surface water availability and to use it during the post-monsoon season. All the already discussed steps would certainly help us in reducing the intensity of monsoon floods, increasing our surface water availability and making Pakistan more climate resilient against torrential rains during the next monsoon season.
To conclude, the heavy monsoon season with torrential rainfalls wreaked havoc across Pakistan in 2022. The flooding was declared as the worst in Pakistan’s history as it affected over 33 million people, caused 1700 fatalities and incurred a damage worth close to a whopping USD 15 billion. The post-flood reconstruction cost was estimated to be over USD 16 billion. Altogether, GermanWatch marked the 2022 flooding in Pakistan as one of the most expensive disasters in world history. Now is the time for us to increase Pakistan’s climate resilience against torrential rainfalls in the monsoon season. We can learn from our previous experiences and can mitigate monsoon floods better in future. All the already discussed ideas in this column are extremely realistic and possible, provided enough public policy attention and financial resources are diverted in this direction. We can make Pakistan more climate resilient against torrential rainfalls in the monsoon season. If we manage flood water sustainably, it can help us during the rest of the year in reducing our reliance on underground water. By doing so, we will reduce the sheer intensity of floods and increase per capita water availability in Pakistan. We have what it takes to strengthen Pakistan against climate change. We and our future generations deserve a climate-resilient Pakistan, strong enough to embrace challenges incurred by a changing climate. We have what is needed to minimise the negative impacts of climate change. Choice is ours and will always be.
The writer is a Stockholm-based policy analyst and the Founder/ Operations Manager of Project Green Earth (www.projectge.org). He can be reached at [email protected].