Climate Change Catastrophe: Are We Ready?

The time has come to face a harsh truth: climate change is no longer a distant threat — it is here, and it is having disastrous consequences. It could hit us today, tomorrow, or any day soon. The only uncertainty is not if, but when? We, as Sri Lankans, have already paid dearly for being unprepared in the past: When the 2004 tsunami struck, we had no warning system in place and no disaster recovery plan. COVID-19 caught us unprepared, exposing deep flaws. During the Easter Sunday attacks, we had detailed intelligence reports, including date, time and even locations, yet we failed to act, and hundreds of lives were lost. In Texas, Pakistan, and South Korea, extreme floods recently caused widespread devastation and loss of life. The warnings were there, but the readiness was not. So, we must ask ourselves: Are we ready this time? Do we have a designated national plan for early prediction?   
Upali Weerasinghe