Could you imagine coming back from school to no home? All your belongings obliterated and soaked beyond recognition. That is what one-third of the 200 plus million nation of Pakistan faced and continues to face. Yet, the world is silent on the climatic catastrophe that has taken place in the country.

Pakistan, officially established in 1947 as the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is geographically positioned in a unique area. To the west they border with Afghanistan and a part of Iran; to the south they Border the Indian Ocean, close to the Arabian peninsula, specifically, Oman; to the east is India; and to the north, the nation is highlighted by a multitude of mountain ranges and glaciers, including the second largest mountain in the world, K-2. 

Now, let’s focus on these glaciers, particularly their melting, and something else that has been ravaging Pakistan and the Indian Subcontinent (includes Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, and Nepal) for centuries: monsoons. The literal deadly combo of these monsoons and melting glaciers provided the perfect setup for the calamity that has struck the Pakistani people. Rains that have caused water up to people’s waists have destroyed homes, roads, and villages all across the rural parts of Pakistan, where the less fortunate tribal peoples reside. These people don’t have draining infrastructure in their villages or any way to handle the overflow of water. Approximately 1,400 people have died as a result, and millions have been displaced from their homes. They are left only to the mercy of mother nature and the ignorance of the world. 

Going on a tangent, the floods in Pakistan bring to reality the prospect of climate change and display violently the effects if we cannot get our acts together regarding climate change. The people who believed that they could run away from this responsibility, trying to say that it’s the next generation’s problem, must realize that the prospective possibility that was climate change is now an imminent reality. The time to act is now.

The floods’ collateral damage will likely be “far greater” than initial estimates of around $10 billion, according to the country’s planning minister, Ahsan Iqbal. In a country that is already going through an economic and political crisis, Pakistan is in no way prepared to fight this natural phenomena. Here is where the responsibility of the world comes into play. Your responsibility. My responsibility. Whether it be through spreading awareness through an Instagram post or donating money to help fight the flood, it is our duty to help those in need, even if their situation holds no impact over us. 

The future of Pakistan is counting on the world, on us, to stand up to the occasion, come together, and restore a sense of humanity to the people of this world and the world itself. 

Visit https://irusa.org/asia/pakistan/ to support the Pakistani people in their efforts to fight these floods.