Karachi’s heat wave a sign of future challenges to Pakistan’s fragile democracy

As with all disasters, Karachi’s heatwave that killed at least 1,200 Pakistanis is rooted in a complex web of natural and man-made factors, writes Tim Kovach in an opinion piece on New Security Beat. “The emergency is the product of a perfect storm of meteorological, political, and religious factors,” he quotes from the The New York Times.

Kovach concludes that the international community should actively work to make disaster response and climate adaptation efforts in Pakistan conflict sensitive. He maintains that developed countries should leverage climate financing mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund, to strengthen the capacity of Pakistan’s democratic government to mitigate and respond to disasters.