Intersecting Climate Stressors and Food Security Challenges in Pakistan

Pakistan is not staring into a distant climate dystopia, it is already weathering it. The country stands at the epicenter of a climate emergency that is not theory but visceral, immediate and brutal. From glacial collapse to desertification, from crumbling agriculture to fractured social safety nets, the climate crisis is no longer
a backdrop, it is the main stage on which Pakistan’s developmental, humanitarian and governance challenges unfold.

This is not merely an environmental issue; it is an existential justice crisis. Climate change punishes the vulnerable most, those who have contributed least to the problem. Pakistan, responsible for less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, has become a grim case study of climate injustice, where the people suffer the consequences of excesses committed far beyond their borders.

Once, the seasons of Pakistan moved with graceful rhythm, a cosmic contract between the land and its stewards. But today, that contract is broken. In the wheat heartlands of southern Punjab, the ancestral farming calendar lies in tatters. Early heatwaves and erratic rainfall have turned cultivation into a gamble. Farmers now speak of “sunburnt harvests” ears of wheat scorched before they ripen, yields halved or worse. This is not just a change in weather; this is climate violence. Predictability has been replaced by destruction.

In Sindh, the water crisis is an unrelenting force. Women walk miles through 48-degree Celsius heat in search of clean water, performing invisible, unpaid labor borne out of systemic failure. As wells and canals dry up, it becomes clear that the issue is not just scarcity, but a collapse of climate-resilient public infrastructure. Diesel-powered tubewells remain the norm, while the dream of solar-powered solutions is stalled by neglect and elite interests.

In the high-altitude Leepa Valley of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, warming winters have silently devastated orchards. Apple now wither, not from pests, but from the absence of chill hours required to bear fruit. Generational legacies of orchard care, passed down through techniques of pruning and grafting are eroding. With each dying tree, a piece of cultural heritage disappears.

Rivers that once flowed peacefully from glacier-fed sources have become hosts to violent glacial lake outbursts. Floods come without warning, destroying footbridges, irrigation channels and schools. Rebuilding never keeps pace. The loss is not just physical, it severs community ties and strips away human dignity.

In Balochistan, the pastoral way of life is fading. Hand pumps extract only hot air and livestock die in droves. Migration in these areas is not a choice, it is a forced departure from an ecosystem that no longer supports life.
The rural economy, once a bedrock of self-sufficiency is cracking. In southern Punjab, cotton farmers now battle whitefly infestations and pink bollworms, worsened by rising humidity. Pesticides no longer work and agricultural extension services are underfunded and sidelined. In Tharparkar, goat herders buy feed just to keep their animals alive, a reversal of logic for families already living in poverty.

Around Mangla Dam, fishing communities face a similar collapse. Water levels are falling and fish stocks are dwindling. These are not just environmental signals, they reflect broken governance, unregulated construction and absent investment in sustainable aquaculture. When boats stop sailing, children stop going to school, diets falter and local economies collapse.

Traditional maize crops in AJK now fail under erratic weather. Despite this, agricultural policies continue to favor input-heavy, low-diversity approaches that buckle under pressure. Farmers spiral into debt, trapped in a cycle of rising costs and falling yields.

The 2022 floods exposed both ecological fragility and institutional paralysis. Beyond submerged homes lay severed futures. Girls who dreamed of becoming doctors and teachers now live in camps beneath plastic sheets, invisible to the education system. Disasters do not suspend the right to education, it is erased by indifference and lack of preparation.

Displaced communities do not vanish. They reappear in urban slums in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad cities already overwhelmed by heat, pollution and crumbling infrastructure. Here, children who once attended school now sell fruit or clean windshields. Girls are pushed into early marriage or domestic labor not by choice, but by poverty.
As rural youth abandon agriculture, entire communities lose not only manpower but memory. In AJK, educated young people leave family farms behind, breaking generational chains of knowledge.

A silent mental health crisis grows. For women, the daily battle to secure water, food and fuel becomes an invisible trauma. For men, the loss of land and livelihood has led to increasing poverty. There are no systems in place to offer psychological support, especially in rural Pakistan.

These are not isolated events, but interconnected catastrophes. Drought leads to hunger; hunger weakens immunity; weakened populations fall prey to disease and are driven from their homes.

Climate change is not simply altering Pakistan’s environment, it is dissolving its social contracts. It redraws lines of privilege and risk along the axes of class, cast, gender and geography. Urban

elites install air conditioning and drill deeper boreholes. Meanwhile, the rural poor are left to migrate, beg and perish.

Pathways to Resilience:

As Pakistan faces an uncertain future, there are clear pathways to build resilience, roads that can help communities withstand shocks, protect livelihoods and restore hope. The journey would not be easy, but with vision, investment and bold action, the tide can be turned.

Climate adaptation and disaster preparedness must be at the heart of every strategy. Imagine a National Climate Adaptation Fund, sized at 5% of the country’s GDP, dedicated solely to empowering communities against climate shocks. This fund would fuel cutting-edge innovations, real time flood forecasting systems that warn vulnerable village’s hours before waters rise, sophisticated landslide monitoring networks deep in the mountainous terrain of AJK and sturdy emergency shelters ready to protect thousands when disaster strikes. Alongside technology, nature itself must be part of the solution.

Reforestation projects can revive dying forests, watersheds can be carefully managed to hold and filter rainwater and cities can embrace green urban design to cool streets and reduce flood risks. These nature based solutions not only protect the environment but also create jobs and strengthen social fabric.

Water security demands urgent reform and innovation. The mountains are crying out as glaciers melt, threatening catastrophic Glacial Lake Outburst Floods. Here, artificial intelligence and satellite technologies offer a lifeline, early warning systems that can detect dangerous changes before disaster hits, giving precious time to evacuate and prepare. Water governance must shift towards sustainability, embracing solar-powered drip irrigation that maximizes every drop and rainwater harvesting that captures seasonal showers for dry spells. Equitable water allocation will ease tensions between farmers and cities alike. Building small dams and aquifer recharge zones can stabilize supplies in the drought-prone regions, ensuring no community is left parched.

Agriculture, the backbone of Pakistan’s economy needs to evolve. Drought-tolerant wheat and heat-resilient rice and agriculture seed varieties must be scaled up to survive increasingly harsh conditions. Urban and vertical farming technologies can bring food production closer to consumers, reducing waste and transportation emissions.
Strategic food reserves in climate-vulnerable regions like Tharparkar and AJK will act as buffers during crises, preventing hunger before it strikes. Restoring agroforestry traditions in AJK will not only preserve soil and biodiversity but also reconnect communities with centuries-old knowledge, blending culture and resilience.

Social and economic protections are important for those bearing the brunt of climate shocks. Climate insurance schemes can shield smallholder farmers from catastrophic losses, while targeted debt relief can free families from cycles of poverty and despair. Legal frameworks must recognize and protect the rights of climate-displaced persons, ensuring that migration is safe, dignified and supported. Mental health services, often overlooked, need expansion, community- based care can help heal the invisible wounds of climate trauma in rural districts hardest hit by repeated disasters.

Pakistan’s fight is not isolated. It is a call for global climate justice. Industrialized nations must answer through loss and damage financing mechanisms under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), acknowledging their historical responsibility and providing funds to countries facing irreversible impacts.
Debt for climate swaps can unlock resources, converting crippling national debts into investments for adaptation projects. AJK-level climate action plans, backed by enforceable targets and timelines, will transform commitments into tangible outcomes.

Investing in climate technology, advanced AI weather modeling, hydroponic farming to grow food with minimal water, glacier monitoring networks will enhance Pakistan’s ability to respond swiftly and intelligently. Nationwide climate literacy campaigns, reaching deep into schools and rural communities will empower citizens with knowledge and hope.

Preserving indigenous knowledge and ecological wisdom offers priceless insights into adaptation strategies, combining science with tradition.

This is not a distant threat looming on the horizon. The climate crisis is unfolding in real time, carving new realities for Pakistan and its people. It is not merely a national emergency but a profound global responsibility. Every delay in action deepens human suffering, weakens economies and accelerates environmental destruction.
The tools and knowledge to fight back are already within reach. What stands in the way is political will and international solidarity, commitments that match the scale and urgency of the crisis.

Key References:
⦁ World Bank (2023) Water Scarcity and Agricultural Losses
⦁ UNEP & ICIMOD Glacial Melt and GLOF Risks
⦁ Pakistan Meteorological Department Monsoon and Heatwave Trends
⦁ Global Climate Risk Index (2023) Climate Vulnerability Rankings
⦁ FAO (2023) Food Security and Crop Forecasts