Facing the heat

THE United Nations has warned that 2024 could well be the hottest year on record. The rapidly rising temperatures mean glaciers melting, rising sea levels, more flooding as well as major losses in agricultural harvests. Pakistan has been grappling with social, economic and political instability since its inception. Consequently, owing to rampant unemployment, malnutrition, socio-political instability and inflation, it is no surprise that climate change is not at the forefront of public discourse. Bloomberg reports that Pakistan, as the fifth largest cotton producer in the world, is witnessing its cotton crop wilt due to extremely high temperatures.