Paying the price

THE freak hailstorm that swept across northern Pakistan on Wednesday, claiming lives and causing destruction, indicates how climate chaos is fast becoming our new normal. Social media was awash with videos showing ‘golf ball-sized’ icy projectiles damaging vehicles and solar panels in Islamabad, flash floods disrupting traffic on the Peshawar-Torkham Highway, and standing crops in Punjab and KP suffering damage.

This month alone has seen weather swings that defy historical precedent. Just days earlier...