Islamabad : Climate change minister Senator Musadik Masood Malik has sounded the alarm over the escalating toll of global warming on Pakistan, warning that the country is losing billions of dollars every year to climate-induced disasters along with mounting social and environmental costs.
"We're among the world's most climate-vulnerable nations despite contributing less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. For the last two decades, we've been facing recurrent climate-induced disasters, which resulted in widespread human, economic and environmental losses," noted the minister in a report submitted to the National Assembly.
The minister said the ongoing monsoon flooding had caused over 950 deaths, displaced millions and submerged over 4,500 villages in Punjab alone, with more than 96,000 people living in relief camps and over 2.2 million acres of farmland, especially in major rice-producing areas, being under water.
He said the 2022 Pakistan floods affected over 33 million people, destroyed or damaged 2.3 million houses, caused over 1,700 deaths and inflicted around $30 billion in damages to infrastructure, housing, agriculture and the economy.
"In addition to floods, glacial melting in the Hindukush–Karakoram–Himalaya region is accelerating, threatening long-term water and food security," he said.
Mr Malik said with Pakistan hosting 13,032 glaciers covering around 13,546km, rising temperatures had led to the formation of glacial lakes, putting 7.1 million people at risk of glacial lake outburst floods.
He said sea intrusion along the Indus Delta was causing large-scale loss of arable and habitable land.
"Estimates indicate that more than 3.5 million acres of fertile land in Sindh have been degraded or lost to seawater intrusion, displacing thousands of coastal families and threatening mangrove ecosystems critical to fisheries and coastal protection," he said.
The minister also complained that recurring heatwaves had intensified in recent years, with extreme temperatures exceeding 50°C in Jacobabad and Sibi, causing heatstroke deaths, a reduction in agricultural productivity and severe water stress.
He said heatwaves in 2022 alone reportedly caused hundreds of deaths and reduced wheat yields by 10-15 per cent in affected districts.
The minister said smog and air pollution situation, especially in Lahore and central Punjab, had worsened, with Air Quality Index levels frequently exceeding 400-500, leading to widespread respiratory illnesses, disruption of daily life and significant public health costs.
He said the World Bank estimated that air pollution caused annual economic losses of up to $6 billion in the country.
Mr Malik said soil erosion and land degradation, driven by erratic rainfall and deforestation, had also intensified.
He said around 27 per cent of Pakistan's land area faces degradation, reducing agricultural productivity and increasing vulnerability to droughts and floods.
"Overall, Pakistan suffers average annual climate-related losses exceeding billions of dollars, alongside mounting social and ecological costs," he said.
The minister said his ministry had undertaken several strategic initiatives to guide and mainstream climate considerations into national and provincial development planning.
Among the government’s recent initiatives are a comprehensive update of the National Climate Change Policy to realign Pakistan’s priorities with evolving global and domestic climate challenges, and the formulation of the National Adaptation Plan 2023, which charts a course toward climate-resilient development. The country’s Nationally Determined Contributions reinforce mitigation and adaptation measures consistent with its international commitments, while the Framework for Implementation of Climate Change Policy (2014-30) translates national vision into sector-specific actions across agriculture, energy, water and urban planning.
In addition, Pakistan has prepared its National Communication on Climate Change, reporting progress and pledges under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
