2024 was the warmest year on record. The levels of Carbon Dioxide in the air were 151% of what it was pre-industrial, Nitrous Oxide was 124%, and Methane was 266%. Global Change Biologist and assistant professor Colin Carlson estimates that by the end of 2024, Climate Change would have killed 4 million people since the year 2000. Even then, some critics consider this to be a gross underestimate. Almost ten years ago, almost all UN members met together to form an agreement together, the Paris Agreement. It was a pledge to keep the Global Mean Surface Temperature below 2 degrees celsius; in order to do this, they’d make sure it never went above 1.5 degrees celsius. In 2024 the Global Mean Surface Temperature was 1.55 degrees celsius. We have broken the threshold.

Previous Floods in Pakistan

Before the current flooding in Pakistan, it occurred in summer of 2022. Over 1700+ people were confirmed dead, and 33 million lives were affected in total. Of the lives lost, at least 528 were estimated to be children. The damage was catastrophic. The Monsoon waters washed away 2.2 million+ homes, 13000+ km of roads, 2000+ health facilities, 440+ bridges, and 27000+ schools. 

Mir Muhammad Jamali, a man who lives in Pakistan describes the horror of the flooding to UN reporters: “It pushed its way into our homes. We were only able to take out some furniture. Our goats died at that instant. Some of our money drained, so we were able to save a little amount. When the water reached five feet, then we didn’t go back. What we brought, we had, what we lost was lost.” UNICEF writes: “Girls and boys in Pakistan are paying the price for a climate disaster not of their making. As we respond to their urgent needs today, we must also begin looking at the months ahead and the need to rebuild the lives of these millions of vulnerable boys and girls - to ensure they are safe, healthy, well nourished, learning, and preparing for their futures.”

A 2022 report confirmed that Pakistan contributed to less than 1% of Global Warming. 

What is a Monsoon?

In order to fully understand the detriment of the flooding and its abnormality, it’s important to fully understand what a Monsoon season is. The Monsoon season is very common in countries below the equator. Instead of having the four seasons of summer, winter, fall, and spring, they have two seasons: the dry season and the wet season. Neither is associated with a certain temperature, but instead with how much rain the region receives. For example, in my home country of Ethiopia, we have a long and hot dry season and a long chilly wet season. The wet season is when farmers are able to produce the most food, so a healthy Monsoon season is crucial in feeding the people of a country.

Extreme Flooding of the Punjab Region

On September 8th, 2025, the Pakistan Meteorological Department posted on X to warn the people of the Punjab region, writing that “another intense monsoon system is expected to bring exceptional downpours in southern parts during the next two days.” By then, the Monsoons had already wreaked havoc. An Al Jazeera reporter that was stationed in Multan of the Punjab Region stressed that the situation was a "huge calamity” in which people’s homes were destroyed, and that crops were lost due to the destruction of farmland. 

Saqib Hassan, a 50-year-old businessman in northern Pakistan, told The Associated Press over the phone about his troubles. “We are homeless now. Our houses have been destroyed. All the government has given us is food rations worth 50,000 rupees (177$) and seven tents…” Another victim of the flooding told reporters at The Guardian about the destruction of farmland: “I cannot imagine what is left for our future generations. Floods and extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, and the future does not look any better. If the farmers of Punjab – the good bowl of India – cannot feed themselves, how will they feed others?”

Crops have been destroyed, cities evacuated, and about 960 people have been estimated to have been killed. People in rescue teams have gone back to their mud and sewage engulfed town to search for the bodies of their loved ones. Only 3 years after rebuilding their homes, schools, and hospitals in the aftermath of the 2022 flash floods, they returned, destroying everything once again. 

A study by World Weather Attribution (WWA), a group of international scientists who study global warming’s role in extreme weather, found that rainfall in Pakistan was 10-15% heavier because of climate change. Lead author Mariam Zachariah states that “Every tenth of a degree of warming will lead to heavier monsoon rainfall, highlighting why a rapid transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy is so urgent.”

Climate scientist Jakob Steiner says “High temperatures and intense precipitation worsened by global warming have accelerated the pace of recent extreme weather events faster than climate experts expected[...]Many events we projected to happen in 2050 have happened in 2025, as temperatures this summer, yet again, have been far above the average.”

So what?

A lot of you may be wondering, “What does this have to do with me?” I know you are used to hearing all about how climate change disasters in random countries you’ve never heard of. I also know that you’re told to turn off the lights when you leave a room, or not to idle your car in order to help ‘reduce the effects of climate change.’ The truth is, the groups who contribute to climate change are tech, gas, and oil giants. We still rely on fossil fuels for our cars, and to power our houses. Our individual efforts, although still necessary, are not enough to prevent climate disasters from happening. 

If you live in a liberal democracy, exercise the right to protest, contact government officials, and use your freedom of speech. The people in power are the only people who can arrest, sanction, and jail corporate executives who ignore climate policy. If enough of us advocate for it, we may make the process of 100% dependency on renewable energy go faster, even if it's by just a few years.