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Floods

Pakistan's 2025 Monsoon Season: Unprecedented Impacts Demand Urgent Climate Action

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Pakistan's 2025 monsoon season has marked a turning point in the country's climate vulnerability, underscoring the need for urgent investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, water reservoirs, and proactive disaster preparedness. Record rainfall, glacier melt, urban flooding, and flash floods have created a severe humanitarian crisis, with experts emphasizing the importance of behavioral change, gender-sensitive relief, and inclusive governance.

Key Takeaways:

  • Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global emissions but remains among the world's top 10 most climate-vulnerable countries.
  • The National Contingency Plan 2025 and the National Monsoon Contingency Plan 2025 highlight the urgent need for water management, preparedness, and community-centered disaster response.
  • Three of the four risk scenarios predicted by the plans have already materialized this season, including heavy inflows merging into the Indus from mountain rains, flash floods in northern mountains, and urban flooding in Karachi.
  • The floods in eight badly-hit districts of northern KP have created a severe humanitarian problem, with many areas remaining inaccessible, shopkeepers unable to reopen businesses, and local philanthropies filling critical gaps.
  • Pakistan's behavioral response remains reactive, with people often ignoring alerts despite repeated warnings from the NDMA.
  • Climate disasters disproportionately affect women, children, and minorities, with lack of sanitation in displacement camps, poor mobility due to cultural barriers, and exclusion from compensation schemes worsening women's suffering.
  • Girls' education suffers disproportionately post-disaster, with many dropping out to take on caregiving roles.
  • Unchecked deforestation and construction along riverbanks are worsening flood damage, with small dams and water storage infrastructure being advocated for.

Statistics:

  • Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global emissions.
  • 13% above-normal rainfall is predicted in northeastern Punjab and Kashmir by the monsoon season's end.
  • Temperature rises of up to 6-7°C are forecasted in July-September, accelerating glacial melt and triggering glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF).
  • Poor storage capacity in Ravi, Sutlej, Jhelum, and Chenab catchments has led to flooding in eastern rivers, devastating farmland and communities.
  • The 2010, 2022, and 2025 floods have highlighted the need for small dams and water storage infrastructure, with the Al-Khidmat Foundation advocating for their construction.

Sources:

  • Press release by the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) on "Unprecedented Monsoon Impacts in Pakistan: Climate Extremes and Humanitarian Challenges".
  • Remarks by Dr. Shafqat Munir, Deputy Executive Director at SDPI.
  • Keynote presentation by Dr. Shehzada Adnan, Deputy Director and Senior Meteorologist.
  • Speech by Dr. Sofia Khalid, Chairperson and Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU).
  • Presentation by Dr. Andaleeb Koasar Jhatial, Lecturer, Department of Economics and Finance, International Institute of Islamic Economics (IIIE), International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).
  • Testimony by Dr. Hafeez ur Rehman, President of Al-Khidmat Foundation.

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