Under climate assault

A new report on the impact of climate change underscores that the countries least responsible for the climate crisis are the ones bearing its most brutal costs. Pakistan is one of the countries for which this is a devastating present-day reality. The latest Climate Risk Index 2026 from the respected NGO Germanwatch ranks us 15th among the countries most affected by extreme weather events over the past three decades.

This relatively low ranking belies the acute and escalating suffering on the ground and conflicts with several other assessments that place Pakistan among the five worst-affected and most at-risk countries. The true picture is painted by the relentless sequence of disasters plaguing the nation. From the unprecedented 2022 floods that submerged a third of the country and displaced millions, to the repeated inundations in 2024 and 2025, it is clear that we are under a climate assault, despite contributing less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

This injustice is at the core of the report, which highlights that the ten most affected nations in the long term are all from the Global South, and none from the high-income group. The human and economic toll is staggering. Apart from the thousands of lives lost globally every year, Pakistan alone has faced economic losses exceeding $30 billion from recent floods, crippling an economy already under strain and destroying livelihoods. The most vulnerable among us — children and the elderly — are paying the highest price, with underfunded healthcare systems failing to protect them from climate-driven disease and death.

An effective climate response demands that world leaders, particularly those from high-emitting nations, move beyond hollow promises at forums like COP30. They must immediately ramp up emissions reductions and finally make good on long-delayed climate finance for adaptation and loss and damage. For its part, Pakistan must focus on investing in climate-resilient infrastructure, early warning systems and water-secure agriculture.