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Farmers in South Asia rely on summer monsoon rains, but recent extreme monsoon flooding has been devastating and deadly. Since July 2025, more than 700 people have died in Pakistan as water and mud swept through settlements and ancient towns. Streets in Karachi, a city of about 20 million inhabitants, were inundated.
This disaster is reminiscent of the 2022 monsoon flooding, which displaced over 8 million people across the country. Pakistan has a long history of natural disasters, from heat waves to flash flooding. As global temperatures rise, risks from powerful downpours and melting glaciers are increasing.
I work on water security issues and grew up in South Asia. I see how climate change is creating an urgent need for disaster preparedness in this dangerously unprepared region.
**Why Pakistan Gets Such Extreme Floods**
Climate change has wide-ranging implications, including increased evaporation and moisture in the atmosphere, leading to powerful downpours. At the same time, warming in mountain regions speeds up snowpack and glacier melting, increasing runoff into rivers and the risk of glacial lake outburst floods.
For instance, a glacial lake outburst flood on August 22, 2025, damaged dozens of houses and created a broad lake threatening communities downstream. Torrential rains earlier that month triggered landslides and flooding, stranding 200 people in the Gilgit-Baltistan region.
Earth’s cryosphere—glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, and snow cover—is a key part of the planet’s climate system. Snow- and ice-covered surfaces reflect up to 80% or 90% of sunlight, keeping temperatures cooler. The loss of reflective snow and ice as temperatures rise further accelerates warming.
Temperatures in Pakistan have been rising faster recently, with Chilas reaching record-breaking heat at 119°F (48.5°C), potentially contributing to the subsequent flooding. Faster melting can trigger major flooding, particularly in the Indus River Basin’s lower reaches where agriculture fields are common flood plains.
**Deforestation and Flooding Risks**
A large part of Pakistan’s population—about 96 million—lives along riverbanks and dried riverbeds, providing flat, available land but also high flood risks. Overpopulation has led to more deforestation, removing cooling sources and increasing the risk of faster flooding and mudslides.
From 2001 to 2024, Pakistan lost about 8% of its tree cover primarily due to logging for large dams in hydropower projects.
**Preparing for Future Disasters**
Pakistan is among the countries hit hardest by weather-related disasters over the past two decades but ranks low globally in disaster preparedness. The recent National Disaster Risk Reduction Strategy (2025-2030) discusses improvements since 2006, but preparedness remains limited due to poor coordination between institutions, insufficient early warning systems, and lack of financial resources.
Old infrastructure, poor drainage, and urban planning that doesn’t consider disaster risk reduction exacerbate people’s vulnerability. Political instability can also undermine effective disaster responses.
To improve safety, Pakistan needs better infrastructure design, expanded early warning networks, integrated education and policy for risk reduction, and improved community training programs. These steps will require better governance and funding.
For long-term protection against natural and human-made disasters, nature-based strategies such as replanting forests to reduce erosion risks and improving land-use planning can help. The world can assist by reducing greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change.
