In the past 24 hours alone, 54 people have lost their lives in Punjab due to relentless monsoon rains. The national toll over the past three weeks has surged to 178, with widespread devastation across Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Balochistan. This year, Pakistan is witnessing an 82% increase in rainfall compared to the same period in July 2024. Punjab alone has received 124% more precipitation than last year in just the first half of July. These are not just statistics; they are stark indicators of a climate emergency colliding with fragile governance and outdated infrastructure.

Punjab has witnessed a 124% increase in rainfall compared to last year, causing deadly floods and widespread devastation.

Cities like Rawalpindi, Islamabad, and Chakwal are drowning, not just in rainwater, but in policy neglect and institutional inertia. In Rawalpindi, monsoon rains turned Rimsha Colony and surrounding areas into waterlogged wastelands. Homes were submerged. Families were seen wading through knee-deep water carrying whatever belongings they could salvage. In Shams Colony, the stench of stagnant sewage mixed with rainwater lingered long after the skies cleared. Mothers held children in their arms atop rooftops, waiting for assistance that never came.

Residents recount horror stories. A young boy was swept away while trying to retrieve a floating shoe. An elderly woman was stuck inside her home for over 24 hours without food or clean water. Dozens of families watched helplessly as their household items, furniture, documents, clothing were destroyed within hours. Entire neighborhoods became islands, disconnected from the rest of the city.

Chakwal, too, faced severe flooding as its outdated drainage systems collapsed under pressure. In Islamabad, the capital of the country, roads became rivers, cars floated away, and emergency services struggled to respond.

What we are seeing is not an isolated event. It is part of a recurring pattern. Each year, the monsoon arrives, and each year, the same areas suffer. Flash floods, overwhelmed drains, destroyed homes, and preventable deaths. And each year, the response is the same: media coverage, temporary rescue operations, press conferences, and then silence until the next downpour.

A cloudburst in Jhelum triggered sudden flash floods, prompting the deployment of army helicopters to rescue stranded families. Boats were used to evacuate residents from submerged urban pockets. But while these images generate temporary headlines and sympathy, they don’t translate into systemic change.

Repeated flooding is exacerbated by unregulated urban expansion on floodplains and outdated drainage systems.

At the core of this crisis is a fundamental policy failure. Despite years of warnings from climate experts, urban expansion in Pakistan continues unchecked and unregulated. Housing schemes are allowed to mushroom on floodplains. Informal settlements grow near nullahs and slopes. Drainage infrastructure is outdated, clogged, or non-existent. Construction continues without adherence to environmental impact assessments or disaster risk criteria.

In Rawalpindi, informal settlements near Lai Nullah have faced repeated flooding, yet remain dangerously exposed. Infrastructure audits are rare. Early warning systems are limited in reach and effectiveness. The provincial disaster management authorities are underfunded, understaffed, and lack the training and tools for anticipatory climate action.

Pakistan urgently needs a comprehensive urban climate adaptation policy, not just a disaster response mechanism. This must include:

1. Flood-resilient infrastructure: New development must be based on hazard mapping and climate risk data. Existing infrastructure should be upgraded with proper drainage, retention basins, and flood walls.
2. Transparent urban planning: Land-use decisions must align with climate forecasts. Illegal and vulnerable settlements must be relocated with dignity and compensation, not just demolished in the name of city beautification.
3. Community-led risk mapping: Locals must be included in identifying at-risk areas and developing emergency preparedness plans. Grassroots-level engagement ensures solutions are grounded in lived reality.
4. Stormwater management systems: Investment in sustainable drainage systems, rainwater harvesting, and green spaces is essential to absorb urban runoff.
5. Stronger forecasting and anticipatory action: Real-time meteorological data must be linked with early warning systems, evacuation plans, and emergency shelters.
6. Equity in investment: Adaptation funding must not be restricted to elite city zones. Second-tier cities like Chakwal and low-income urban peripheries must receive priority funding based on vulnerability, not visibility.

This is not just about climate adaptation. It’s about justice. The people paying the highest price are not the urban elite, but the daily wage workers, domestic helpers, informal settlers, and families living at the edge of survival. They bear the brunt of policy apathy and institutional neglect.

Disaster management authorities are underfunded and ill-equipped for anticipatory climate action.

The 2022 floods devastated one-third of the country, affecting over 33 million people. That trauma still echoes in rural Sindh and Balochistan. Yet, here we are again—facing death, loss, and displacement in 2024. What more do we need to understand that climate extremes are not future threats? They are here. They are now.

It is time for our political leadership, urban planners, climate policymakers, and donors to acknowledge that annual monsoon disasters are not natural—they are man-made. The floods are just the trigger; the real damage stems from policy failure.

Cities must no longer be built as monuments to privilege, where security colonies get stormwater protection and everyone else is left to drown. The federal and provincial governments must work together to establish an Urban Resilience Fund, backed by climate finance and multilateral support. Local governments must be empowered with technical expertise and budgetary autonomy.

Climate adaptation must prioritize vulnerable communities with flood-resilient infrastructure and community-led risk planning.

We are living through a pivotal moment. Climate change is not just raising the seas or drying the rivers; it is flooding our cities, displacing our people, and exposing the fragility of our institutions. If we continue down this path, every monsoon will become a humanitarian crisis. Pakistan does not have the luxury to delay. The human and economic cost of inaction is growing heavier with each passing storm. We must act before the rain becomes a permanent disaster.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author. They do not represent the views, beliefs, or policies of the Stratheia.