THIS is with reference to the editorial ‘Climate choices’ (June 15) which provided some critical insights. Pakistan’s systemic vulnerability to extreme weather and our heavy reliance on short-term disaster management tools, instead of building permanent, structural defence mechanisms in order to have a secure future, are rather alarming.

The recent Pakistan Economic Survey brought to light an eye-opening reality. After enduring back-to-back record-breaking heatwaves in 2024 and 2025, our glaciers are melting rapidly and our monsoon cycles have become dangerously unpredictable. While the federal budget’s allocation of approximately Rs214 billion for climate expenditure and Rs476 billion for green subsidies shows a positive initiative in this regard, it is extremely inadequate for the scale of the disaster that is knocking at our doors. The state’s own documents estimate an astonishing requirement of $565.7 billion in climate-related invest-ments by 2035, proving that we are currently far behind in the race to bring a real and practical change for an exis-tential catastrophe.

Therefore, our national policy needs to immediately shift from intermittent, post-disaster strategies to aggressive, befitting and long-term planning. The state must urgently prioritise major structural overhauls which should include modernised urban drainage systems, advanced early-warning systems, and climate-smart agricultural practices.

We can no longer afford to wait for a disaster to hit us before we decide to care. The public needs to wake up and compel our policymakers to act before the next predictable storm washes our future away.

Hamza Saeed Kharral
Lahore

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2026