We pick claims that people send us or that we see shared widely. Each one gets one of three verdicts, a short answer, and the evidence with page references. If you have seen a claim you want us to check, email [email protected]. Last checked 5 November 2026.
How we judge
- Broadly right: the claim matches the best available evidence, perhaps with small caveats.
- Missing context: part of the claim is right, but it leaves out something that changes the conclusion.
- Not supported: the best available evidence does not back the claim.
Our full method is on How we check.
"Pakistan produces only about 1% of the world's emissions, so climate change isn't our problem."
Missing context
The short answer: The number is right, but the conclusion isn't. Pakistan's own climate plan says it produces about 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But the countries that did least to cause climate change are often hit hardest, and Pakistan's 2022 floods alone caused about US$30 billion in damage and losses. For Pakistan, climate change is very much a problem: mainly one of protecting people, along with cutting its own emissions.
What the evidence says
- Pakistan accounts for about 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. (Pakistan NDC 3.0, 2025; p. 4)
- "Vulnerable communities who have historically contributed the least to current climate change are disproportionately affected (high confidence)." (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; p. 5, SPM A.2)
- The 2022 floods caused an estimated US$14.9 billion in physical damage and US$15.2 billion in economic losses. (Pakistan Floods 2022 PDNA; p. 14)
- Pakistan still plans to cut its own emissions: by up to 50% by 2035, with 17% unconditional and 33% conditional on international climate finance. (Pakistan NDC 3.0, 2025; p. 1)
Read more: Pakistan NDC 3.0 summary · Pakistan 2022 floods PDNA summary
"The Himalayan glaciers will be gone by 2035."
Not supported
The short answer: The 2035 date came from an error in a 2007 IPCC report, which the IPCC corrected publicly in 2010. But the glaciers are shrinking fast. They disappeared 65% faster in 2011 to 2020 than in the decade before, and could lose up to 80% of their current volume by 2100 if emissions stay on their current path. This is a good example of science correcting its own mistake while the underlying problem stays real.
What the evidence says
- A paragraph in the IPCC's 2007 assessment said the likelihood of Himalayan glaciers "disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high". (Quoted by CNN, 20 January 2010)
- On 20 January 2010, the IPCC said that paragraph "refers to poorly substantiated estimates of rate of recession and date for the disappearance of Himalayan glaciers" and that its "standards of evidence, required by the IPCC procedures, were not applied properly". (IPCC statement on the melting of Himalayan glaciers, 20 January 2010)
- Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalaya disappeared 65% faster in 2011 to 2020 than in the previous decade. (ICIMOD, HI-WISE report press release, 20 June 2023)
- These glaciers could lose up to 80% of their current volume by the end of the century on current emissions trajectories. They provide fresh water to 240 million people in the mountains and 1.65 billion people downstream. (ICIMOD, HI-WISE report press release, 20 June 2023)
Read more: How to tell good climate information from bad · Our corrections log
"Planting trees is enough to fix climate change."
Missing context
The short answer: Trees help, and protecting and restoring forests is one of the best climate actions there is. But the IPCC is clear that reaching net zero mainly needs deep cuts in emissions from energy, transport, industry and farming. Large tree-planting schemes can also harm food, water and local people if they are badly planned. So plant and protect trees, and cut emissions too.
What the evidence says
- Conservation, better management and restoration of forests and other ecosystems "offer the largest share of economic mitigation potential". (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; SPM C.3.5, p. 29)
- Reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions "primarily requires deep reductions in CO2, methane, and other GHG emissions". (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; SPM B.5.1, p. 19)
- In pathways that limit warming to 1.5°C, global greenhouse gas emissions fall by a median 43% by 2030 from 2019 levels. (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; p. 21)
- Afforestation "can have adverse socio-economic and environmental impacts, including on biodiversity, food and water security, local livelihoods and the rights of Indigenous Peoples, especially if implemented at large scales and where land tenure is insecure". (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; SPM B.6.4, p. 21)
Read more: One Tree project · IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report summary
"It's just a hot summer. The weather has always changed."
Not supported
The short answer: One hot summer is weather, and on its own it proves nothing either way. But the long record shows a clear trend. Pakistan warmed about twice as fast as the world between 1981 and 2005, and scientists found that climate change made the 2022 heatwave in Pakistan and India about 30 times more likely.
What the evidence says
- Climate is the long-term pattern of weather, standardised by the World Meteorological Organization over 30-year periods. See our article on weather and climate.
- Between 1981 and 2005, Pakistan warmed by 0.39°C per decade, compared with 0.18°C for the globe. (Pakistan National Adaptation Plan 2023; p. 16)
- Climate change made an event like the 2022 India and Pakistan heatwave about 30 times more likely, and about 1°C hotter than it would have been in a preindustrial climate. (World Weather Attribution, 2022; p. 1)
- The years 2015 to 2025 were the eleven warmest in WMO's global temperature record. (WMO State of the Global Climate 2025; p. 8)
Read more: Weather vs climate · Heatwaves in Pakistan
"Smog is just winter fog. It goes away by itself."
Not supported
The short answer: Fog is made of tiny water droplets. Punjab's winter smog is air pollution from vehicles, industry, brick kilns and burning, trapped near the ground by cold, still winter air. It is far above safe levels, and it harms health long before it clears.
What the evidence says
- In Lahore, primary PM2.5 emissions come mainly from transport (35%), industry (28%) and brick kilns (17%). Temperature inversions trap this pollution near the ground from November through February. (Pakistan Air Quality Initiative, 2025; pp. 11, 54)
- Lahore's yearly average PM2.5 was about 105 µg/m³ in 2023 and 2024, about 21 times the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. (Pakistan Air Quality Initiative, 2025; p. 258, Table A2)
- During the November 2024 smog, pollution in Lahore and Multan was more than 100 times the WHO guideline, and over 11 million children under five were exposed in the worst-hit districts of Punjab. (UNICEF Pakistan, 11 November 2024)
Read more: Smog in Pakistan: what the evidence says
"Air pollution is costing Pakistan's economy, not just our health."
Broadly right
The short answer: Yes. The World Bank estimates that air pollution damage costs Pakistan about 6.5% of GDP a year. That figure is an estimate built on the value economists put on illness and early deaths, so it is best read as a measure of scale, not money that leaves the economy each year.
What the evidence says
- Air pollution damage costs Pakistan an estimated additional 6.5% of GDP per year, counting illness, disability and premature deaths. (World Bank Pakistan CCDR, 2022; p. 17)
- Air pollution contributes to about 128,000 premature deaths a year in Pakistan. (Pakistan Air Quality Initiative, 2025; p. 144)
Read more: World Bank Pakistan CCDR summary · Pakistan's Clean Air Fund
"Climate change is a problem for the future, not today."
Not supported
The short answer: It is already here. The IPCC finds that human-caused climate change is already affecting weather and climate extremes in every region of the world. In 2025, the world was about 1.43°C warmer than in the late 1800s, and Pakistan's monsoon floods killed more than a thousand people.
What the evidence says
- Human-caused climate change is already affecting weather and climate extremes in every region, with widespread losses and damages. (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; p. 5, SPM A.2)
- Increased extreme heat has caused deaths and illness in every region. (IPCC AR6 Synthesis Report, 2023; p. 6, SPM A.2.5)
- In 2025, global near-surface temperature was 1.43°C ± 0.13°C above the 1850 to 1900 average. (WMO State of the Global Climate 2025; p. 8)
- During the 2025 monsoon season, 1,037 flood-related deaths were reported in Pakistan, and over 3 million people needed assistance. (WMO, Significant Weather and Climate Events 2025; p. 6)
Read more: WMO State of the Global Climate summary · Key facts