June 5, 2025
By Muhammad Junaid
LAHORE
For Pakistan, World Environment Day offers no celebration — only a sobering reminder of a climate crisis spiraling out of control.
The country has once again ranked among the countries most devastated by climate change, according to the newly released Climate Risk Index 2025 by Germanwatch. The report places Pakistan, along with Belize and Italy, at the top of the list of nations hardest hit by extreme weather events in 2022.
The CRI published since 2006, is one of the longest running annual climate impact-related indices. It analyses climate-related extreme weather events’ degree of effect on countries. In doing so, it measures the consequences of realised risks on countries.
This backward-looking index ranks countries by their economic and human impacts (fatalities as well as affected, injured, and homeless) with the most affected country ranked highest. It visualises such events’ degree of effect at two years before the index’s publication and over the preceding 30 years.
According to the publication, Pakistan suffered a heavy monsoon season in June–September 2022, that brought devastating floods, landslides, and storms, affecting more than 33 million people, with more than 1,700 fatalities and nearly USD 15 billion in damage. A heatwave earlier in the year claimed more than 90 lives.
Not only this, but climate change is also taking a heavy toll on the most vulnerable — especially children and the elderly.
‘Invisible Deaths’
In its latest report published on May 5, Amnesty International said Pakistan’s healthcare and disaster response systems are failing to meet the needs of children and older people who are most at risk of death and disease amid extreme weather events related to climate change.
‘Pakistan is the fifth-most vulnerable country to climate disasters. Older people and young children, who are the highest risk from extreme heat or the water- and mosquito-borne diseases which spread after a flood, face a disproportionate burden’ – Amnesty
PAKISTAN: @amnesty's new report finds that Pakistan’s healthcare and disaster response systems are failing to meet the needs of children and older people who are most at risk of death and disease amid extreme weather events related to climate change. https://t.co/vb4JcV3t3M
— Amnesty International South Asia, Regional Office (@amnestysasia) May 6, 2025
What will happen by 2070?
If the climate crisis continues to accelerate, up to 300 million people in the Asia-pacific region could be threatened by coastal inundation, and trillions of dollars of coastal assets could be damaged annually by 2070. Pakistan will have to bear the most severe economic impacts-with its GDP shrinking by up to 21.1% under a high-emission scenario.
The Asia-Pacific Climate Report 2024, published by the Asian Development Bank, attributes this economic decline largely to severe disruptions in natural resource sectors—namely agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. These sectors alone are projected to account for a combined 12% loss in Pakistan’s GDP, the highest impact among all countries analyzed.
Pakistan is also expected to experience a significant rise in average temperatures if current emission trends continue. According to the ADB, Pakistan could experience a temperature rise of 1.3 to 3.9°C by the end of this century.
‘Act before it’s too late’
Dr. Shafiq Ahmed Kamboh, a climate activist and associate professor at the University of the Punjab, has warned that Pakistan could face ‘irreparable environmental, economic, and human losses’ if decisive climate action is not taken.
Speaking to Voicepk, Dr. Kamboh said extreme weather events — including out of season rains, floods, heatwaves, and water shortages — are already straining the economy and making daily life increasingly precarious for millions.
“If this trend continues, agricultural output will drop further, leading to food insecurity and rising inflation,” he said, adding that access to clean water and public health in major cities would also deteriorate.
He also flagged the growing risk of displacement. “Thousands of families may be forced to migrate due to climate-related disruptions,” he said.
Dr. Kamboh urged the government to prioritise environmental education, adopt renewable energy, conserve water, and strengthen forest protection. “We must treat climate change as a national development challenge — not just an environmental one,” he said.
Our future depends on the decisions we make today — we must act before it’s too late.