DISASTERS have typically been framed as acts of nature. Of late, they look increasingly like tests of preparedness that governments are failing. The latest figures from EM-DAT — a global disaster tracking database — show that in 2025, 358 natural hazard-related disasters killed 16,607 people, affected 110.2m and caused $169.7bn in losses. The warning lies not in one singular catastrophe, but in the piling up of shocks. Floods, earthquakes, storms, droughts and wildfires are compounding each other’s effects, while already strained systems absorb blow after blow. Beyond the global annual tally, several numbers stand out. Asia accounted for 72.8pc of disaster deaths and 74.3pc of people affected. Storms affected 54m people in 2025, while wildfire losses reached $53.9bn. Yet even these figures understate the danger. The report notes heat-related deaths in Pakistan, India and Europe remain incompletely counted. Extreme heat is becoming one of the deadliest hazards, even when it draws less attention than floods or earthquakes.

Pakistan’s experience should raise hard questions, especially as the budget season approaches. Last year’s monsoon floods caused 1,037 deaths and affected 6.9m people. The issue is not simply recurring disasters; it is recurring vulnerability. Each season exposes the same failures: weak drainage, unmanaged urban growth, unsafe settlements and neglected water systems. Flash flooding in cities, glacial risks in the north and riverine flooding in the plains point to hazards that cut across regions. This is why the budget should be judged not only by numbers, but by whether it prepares the country for growing climate risks. If adaptation spending stays marginal, the government will keep paying for damage after disasters instead of reducing losses beforehand. Climate resilience cannot sit in scattered schemes or donor-funded pilots. It requires allocations for drainage upgrades, flood protection, watershed restoration, climate-resilient infrastructure and local early-warning systems. Provincial and municipal capacity, where much of the disaster response actually happens, also needs resources. Therefore, it is a problem beyond weather. Repeated disasters are exposing repeated policy failures. Relief and rescue remain necessary but cannot sit at the centre of climate policy. The real work lies in reducing exposure before hazards turn into tragedy. The takeaway is clear: unless budgets prepare for climate risk, recurring disasters will become a permanent drag on the country’s growth.

Published in Dawn, April 26th, 2026