Let that sink in, May 15 -- even if humanity does everything right from this point forward, the youngest among us will still live through climate conditions far harsher than any previous generation. In Brussels, the capital of the European Union, a child born in 2020 is expected to experience 11 heatwaves in their lifetime. Contrast that with someone born in the pre-industrial era, who would likely endure just three.

It's about the lived future of billions of young people. It's about children inheriting a planet where "summer" increasingly means searing, suffocating heat, where a week of clean air is a luxury, and where the very act of stepping outside carries health risks.

Kashmir is not safe from this turn for worse in the climate. Th...