Pakistan has once again become a victim of a climate-led disaster in the form of floods, hitting different parts of the country.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) of Pakistan, nearly 900 people lost their lives and more than 1000 were injured from June 26 to August 22, 2025. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa witnessed the heaviest losses, recording 469 deaths and 280 injuries, followed by Punjab with 165 deaths and 584 injuries. Sindh faced 51 fatalities and 69 injuries, while Balochistan recorded 24 deaths and five injuries. Islamabad reported eight deaths and three injuries. In Gilgit-Baltistan, 45 people were killed and 42 injured, whereas Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported 23 deaths and 28 injuries.
In addition to the loss of precious lives, these floods damaged infrastructure, including houses, roads, crops and markets. The exact estimation of socio-economic damages is still to be identified. According to the Islamic Relief’s emergency response team, there is a massive scale of destruction in flood-hit parts of north-western Pakistan.
According to their report, “73 per cent of houses are destroyed or partially damaged, 60 per cent of people in Buner and 53 per cent in Swat are now unable to support their families. 80 per cent of agricultural land in Buner has been damaged. Farmers have suffered major losses to stored grains, standing crops, and orchards. Nearly 50 per cent of livestock animals have died and been washed away 40 per cent of households are already reporting cases of diarrhoea, with water-borne diseases spreading as the water supply is contaminated by dead bodies and livestock, and the destruction of sanitation facilities. Almost one third of people report signs of trauma, anxiety, and distress following the floods”.
Previously, Pakistan saw the most devastating floods of its history in 2022 and 2010. In addition to floods, Pakistan is continuously facing one climate-related disaster after another, including heatwaves, droughts and glacier melting. The toll of these physical and socio-economic losses caused by climate-related threats is more than the traditional security threats. Why has Pakistan become a regular victim of climate change disasters? The answer to this question is at three levels: international, national and local.
First, Pakistan’s contribution to global carbon emissions is less than one per cent but it is declared among the top ten countries most affected by climate change. Climate is a human-made phenomenon, but it is disproportionately affecting developing countries, such as Pakistan, with greater intensity and at increasingly regular intervals. Historically, the unsustainable development of currently rich countries has led to an increased level of greenhouse gases (GHG), causing global warming.
Now, Pakistan and other developing countries are facing the music of the unchecked development journey of developed nations. Even after acknowledging these historical mistakes, developed nations continue to promote and protect their economic interests at the expense of the Global South. The promises made to support climate-victimised nations through funds like the Loss & Damage Fund (L&D) and the Green Climate Fund are not fulfilled. These funds still fall short of their required targets, raising questions about the seriousness of rich nations towards climate change. Newly submitted Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are also contradictory to the practical steps of nations to achieve those targets. It also casts a doubt on the actual intentions of developed nations to fulfil their commitments.
At the national level, Pakistan has taken numerous mitigation and adaptation steps to combat climate change and crafted climate change policies to meet its international obligations. Initiatives such as the Green Pakistan Program, the adoption of renewable energy resources through solarisation, hydropower projects, electric vehicles, climate education through specialised degree programmes in universities, the Green Credit Program, and the demarcation of green and grey areas showcase the country's commitment to green projects despite its limited resources and weak economy. But implementation of these projects at the grassroots level also depends on funding and technical support.
The problem arises from the execution of these projects due to a lack of political stability, corruption, various interest groups, differences among political parties, bureaucratic hurdles, and other security challenges. Due to repeated and regular intervals of massive-scale climate-led disasters, budgetary allocations for mitigation and adaptation steps are spent on the rehabilitation of climate-affected victims.
At the local level, illegal construction of infrastructure on riverbanks, a strong timber mafia and a lack of modern drainage systems are also major challenges that exacerbate the disasters brought by floods in Pakistan. The announcement by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to call a meeting on illegal constructions on rivers is a highly commendable initiative. It is also equally important to take strict actions against the timber mafias who are responsible for destroying forests, which serves as a natural barrier against the floods.
We, as citizens of Pakistan, have a rather short memory span and, to some extent, we are insensitive too. We mourn the loss and damage for the time being during the time of crises created by floods and other climate-related disasters. After some time, we get engaged in all those activities that become a cause of another climate-led catastrophe in the future.
Protecting our planet is a shared responsibility. It is time for the world to learn from its historical mistakes and the catastrophes that have hit Pakistan, and start taking climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts on practical grounds. The developed world should also fulfil its commitments to support countries like Pakistan, which are bearing the brunt of climate change disproportionately.
The writer is a graduate of the University of Oxford in Public Policy. She tweets/posts @zilehumma_1 and can be reached at: [email protected]
