Climate change is a very real threat. It will have major implications for every country and region in the world, but South Asia is particularly vulnerable. To appropriately address the challenges there, the world will have to confront four misconceptions about climate change in South Asia. With world leaders convening in Paris to hash out a new agreement on climate change, now is the right time to do it.

1) Bangladesh Is Uniquely Vulnerable

Bangladesh, a low-lying, flood-prone nation is frequently described as one of the most climate vulnerable nations in South Asia – and in the world. In reality, however, several other South Asian states are just as, if not more, pressed.

Take Pakistan. Germanwatch’s Global Climate Risk Index, which measures the impacts of weather-related disasters (in terms of death tolls and financial losses), has ranked Pakistan as one of the world’s 10 most-impacted countries in recent years. A 2015 UN study, which had a similar conclusion, pointed to the country’s perfect storm of geographic, demographic, and climatic conditions – an arid climate, large coastal populations, and a strong dependence on glaciers for drinking water. Experts estimate that about a quarter of Pakistan’s land area and half its population of nearly 200 million are vulnerable to climate change-related disasters.

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