SOUTH Asia stands on the frontier of the climate crisis, and on the edge of its own undoing. Home to nearly two billion people, this region is sandwiched between geopolitical rivalry and ecological fragility. The 1.5 degrees Celsius in not a distant world here — it is the lived experience of millions. The glaciers in the Third Pole are melting rapidly, threatening the water security of both Pakistan and India. Recurrent droughts are driving migration and deepening poverty in Afghanistan. Glacial lake outburst floods threaten mountain communities in Nepal, while Bangladesh faces rising seas that could submerge one-fifth of its land.

For decades, the region’s political energy has been consumed by border disputes, identity politics, and historical grievances. Yet none of these rivalries will matter, if climate change renders our lands uninhabitable and our economies unviable.

According to scientific reports, South Asia is warming up more rapidly than the rest of the world, and therefore, logic suggests that the region cannot afford another century of hate and hostility. Its people share rivers, monsoons, mountains and deltas. All these systems are under assault by nature posing a threat far greater than cross-border conflicts.

As the glaciers in the region retreat, transboundary rivers such as the Indus, Ganges, and Brahmaputra are becoming increasingly unpredictable. In this context,........

© Dawn