Monsoon preparedness

With the monsoon clouds fast approaching, the question that looms large over Karachi is not whether it will rain, but how well the city is prepared to endure the prolonged downpours. According to the FAO, the India-Pakistan border region — including southern Sindh — is likely to witness extended monsoon activity from late June to October. For a metropolis like Karachi, where every heavy rain event in recent years has resulted in flooded streets, power outages, and loss of life and property, the signs are ominous.

University Road — one of the city's busiest arteries — remains mired in dust, traffic chaos and haphazard diversions due to ongoing metro line construction. Meanwhile, many parts of northern Karachi have been dug up for various utility and development projects, with little sign of urgency or coordination to restore them before the rains arrive.

In essence, the city is entering the monsoon season with its streets already broken and drainage lines exposed. There have been efforts to clear and upgrade drains in select localities like DHA and Clifton, but whether this will be sufficient is something only time — and the first heavy downpour — will tell. Outside these pockets, there has been virtually no large-scale or visible monsoon preparedness. The usual claims of nullah cleaning and de-silting remain unsupported by on-ground evidence, especially in low-lying and high-risk areas where flooding has become a seasonal norm. This patchwork approach to disaster prevention reflects a deeper malaise of the absence of a unified urban strategy. The fractured governance of Karachi — divided among the KMC, cantonment boards, provincial departments and private utilities — continues to stymie coordinated action.

Karachi doesn't need more lip service. It needs proactive planning. It requires a climate-resilient infrastructure overhaul and year-round planning, rooted in scientific forecasting and urban design. For now, Karachi stands on the precipice of another monsoon season, yet again underprepared, and with little excuse.