Eco-anxiety: Gen-Z facing climatic havoc

Imagine a blazing sunny afternoon - the kind that wraps the city in a deceptive calm. You've just finished your final exam, shared a celebratory lunch with friends and are driving back, relaxed and relieved. Suddenly, a deafening burst shatters the peace, as if your rear tyre has exploded. The moment you saw the tyre at the back, it's perfectly intact. But what follows is something far more terrifying. The sound grows louder, harsher - like bullets pounding relentlessly on metal. It isn't gunfire. It is hail - violent, unforgiving and fast - crashing down like a wrathful sky.

You find yourself trapped in your car with no shelter in sight, staring helplessly as tennis ball-sized hailstones batter your windshield, crack your windows and crush everything in sight. The chaos outside mirrors, the panic within. This wasn't an isolated incident. In the past few weeks, we've faced freak weather events, disrupting daily life and exposing the cracks in our infrastructure and climate preparedness.

Pakistan is currently battling a dual climate crisis - soaring heatwaves and sudden, destructive storms. In recent weeks, unprecedented hailstorms and thunderstorms have battered regions across the nation, especially in April and May of 2025. These storms, far from seasonal norms, struck with rare intensity, bringing hailstones the size of golf balls to the heart of Islamabad, causing widespread damage to university zones, vehicles, buildings and infrastructure. The latest storm in Islamabad and Rawalpindi led to a rain emergency, while across Punjab, 18 people were tragically killed and nearly 100 injured. These events aren't mere weather oddities - they are warning signs that Pakistan is entering a dangerous new climate era.

For a generation already burdened by economic uncertainty and political instability, the climate crisis is no longer a distant. Gen Z - Pakistan's largest and most vocal youth demographic - bore the brunt of the damage. They are asking critical questions: Why is climate resilience not integrated into urban planning? Why are early warning systems underfunded? And why is climate education still optional in schools and universities?

What makes this moment even more urgent is Pakistan's geopolitical vulnerability as a lower riparian state. The suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty by India amid escalating tensions has amplified the sense of uncertainty. Climate change is now intersecting with water politics, creating a complex web of insecurity. When upstream water control is politicised and climate unpredictability escalates, the effects cascade downstream - impacting agriculture, drinking water and livelihoods. In a country where more than 60% of the population depends directly or indirectly on water-intensive agriculture, this is not just an environmental issue; it's an existential one.

The recent climatic chaos - whether in the form of brutal hailstorms, suffocating heatwaves or flooding urban streets - is not just an environmental issue but a deeply personal one for Gen Z. Pakistan's youth now find themselves grappling with eco-anxiety, a growing psychological stress rooted in environmental decline.

Despite being on the frontline of this climate emergency, Gen Z is not staying silent. This generation is hyper-connected, mobilising through platforms like Twitter, Instagram and TikTok to share real-time updates, raise awareness and demand accountability. What's emerging is a powerful digital climate-conscious movement - one that's informed, organised and relentless. Gen Z is no longer waiting for permission; they are building solutions, calling out institutional failure and aligning with global climate justice movements. However, this momentum must be matched with structural change.

Pakistan urgently needs to invest in climate-resilient urban planning, enforce early-warning systems, integrate environmental education at all academic levels and, most importantly, give youth a seat at the policy table. Gen Z must be seen not as mere victims of the climate crisis, but as architects of the solution. Their activism, innovation and voice are vital for crafting a future that doesn't just survive climate shocks but grows stronger through them.