Nepal, Nov. 5 -- I still remember the day we saw the video announcing our school was going to be closed for a few days due to a flash flood. On any other day, a message indicating school closure would have delighted me, but that day, looking out at the unseasonal downpour drowning our streets, it brought a heavy sense of dread and lack of control. For the first time, climate change stopped being a distant concept and became part of my daily life. Since then, one question has continued to trouble me: If climate change is already disrupting our lives today, how much more severe will its impacts be in the future?

When I think about it, living far from direct exposure to many of these risks, I feel like I am fortunate compared to many other ...