By: Mahwish Arif
In the last several years, Pakistan’s urban centers have been battlegrounds against an unpredictable climate. Sudden cloudbursts and city-destroying floods are no longer anomalies—they are now seasonal warnings. The year 2025 has again served to remind us how unprepared urban Pakistan remains to cope with intensifying climate calamities.
In July this year, a cloudburst over Islamabad transformed busy streets into rivers within hours. Cars floated like paper boats, schools shut, and thousands of citizens were marooned in their homes. In Karachi, heavy monsoon rains deluged a drainage system already weakened by inefficiency, drowning entire neighborhoods. A shopkeeper in Lyari recalled, “It was as if the sea had entered our houses. We lost our merchandise, but more than that, we lost our peace of mind.”
These are stories becoming common all over urban Pakistan. No city appears to be secure from the destruction caused by unplanned urbanization and climate-induced rainfall extremes, from Rawalpindi to Lahore.
Meteorologists warn that climate change is intensifying rainfall patterns. Rising global temperatures increase the atmosphere’s ability to hold water, resulting in more intense downpours in shorter periods. What would have been a manageable rain in the past now translates into destructive flash floods. According to the Pakistan Meteorological Department, extreme rainfall events in urban centers have doubled in the past two decades.
The heavens are not the only reason for the floods but the cities themselves. Random urbanization has paved over natural drains with concrete and asphalt. The stormwater drains are clogged with garbage, and unplanned development blocks the way of water. In Karachi, 36 large storm drains were found to be encroached, and there was no exit for the rainwater. The result: every rain becomes a disaster.
The worst affected are the poor. Informal settlements, typically built on low land, are the first to get flooded. The families lose their meager belongings, are vulnerable to waterborne infections, and struggle for clean drinking water. “We had to walk through waist-deep water to find a dry place,” narrated a mother in Lahore’s Shahdara locality. “My children got sick, but there was no clinic nearby.”
Urban floods also trail immense economic losses. Shops close, transportation collapses, and public assets are destroyed. Economic losses from urban flooding in Pakistan alone have exceeded $2 billion over the last five years, says the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Health crises are not far behind, as dengue, cholera, and malaria breed in standing water.
Urban floods are not natural disasters alone—they are failures of governance and planning. Cities need urgent investment in modern drainage systems, flood-resistant infrastructure, and uncompromising regulation against encroachments. Public awareness campaigns on waste management and community preparedness are also needed.
Researchers stress that climate adaptation must be the core of Pakistan’s urban policy. As a climate scientist warned, “What we are seeing in 2025 is only the beginning. If cities do not adapt now, cloudbursts will be annual disasters.”
Pakistan’s worsening cloudbursts and urban floods are a warning we cannot afford to ignore. The year 2025 has shown us that climate change, poor planning, and rushed urbanization together are a deadly mix. Building resilient cities is not just about building walls against water but building resilience into systems, communities, and policy. If action is delayed, the next flood will be far more deadly.
