The climate change-induced disasters pose a major challenge to Pakistan’s development. These include floods, heatwaves, cyclones, and droughts. Combined with these vulnerabilities, disasters cause significant loss of life and economic damage.
This year, the devastating monsoon season, marked by record rainfall, glacier melt, and widespread flooding, has exposed Pakistan’s extreme vulnerability to climate change. Pakistan is one of the fastest urbanising countries in South Asia, with cities rapidly emerging as the drivers of economic growth. Unplanned urbanisation is amplifying climate risks to service delivery as expanding cities grapple with challenges of solid waste management, water supply and drainage, affordable housing, and resilience to extreme events.
Climate change impacts, coupled with a lack of effective water management and urban planning, cause environmental degradation, economic loss, political destabilisation, and eventually the outbreak of various waterborne diseases. The country faces an unprecedented dual challenge: one of the fastest urbanisation rates in South Asia and escalating climate vulnerabilities. Over half the population is projected to live in urban areas in the coming years, many of which are ill-equipped to handle the severe impacts of climate change.
The catastrophic 2022 floods, which submerged one-third of the country, are a stark reminder of the risks. Without immediate, coordinated action, urban resilience will continue to weaken under the weight of unplanned growth and intensifying climate stress.
This year, after prolonged heatwave and drought conditions, Sindh received major monsoon rains in the third week of August. On 19 August 2025, unprecedented heavy monsoon rain hit Karachi city. The heavy rain overwhelmed Karachi’s fragile infrastructure, bursting stormwater drains and sewers, and bringing life in the city to a standstill.
This is not the first time that Karachi has witnessed such chaos due to heavy rain in a few hours. Though the authorities believe that climate change was a major reason for the unusual rainfall, the recurring loss of life, damage, and disruption that Karachi faces during the monsoon season can be attributed primarily to governance challenges, including institutional inefficiency, rather than solely to climate change.
There has to be a focus on increasing the ‘green cover’ to act as support drainage basins to protect against river-based and tidal flooding as well
According to a city diagnostic and transformation strategy developed by the World Bank in 2018, Karachi is at high risk of natural and human-made disasters and is one of the most disaster-vulnerable districts in Pakistan. Various authorities responsible for disaster response suffer from weak coordination, information gaps, low capacity, and limited planning. Emergency response is hindered by poor land-use planning and building control.
Regular flooding occurs during the annual monsoon season due to the poorly maintained and clogged drainage system. Air pollution is one of the most severe environmental problems. Environmental pollution has a high cost to public health, up to seven per cent of Sindh province’s GDP.
The urban expansion is often unplanned and unregulated, resulting in significant environmental stress and biodiversity loss. Primarily fuelled by migration, instability, and economic necessity, the rate of urbanisation in Pakistan is the highest in South Asia. Pakistan’s intensified climate vulnerability, urban sprawl, deforestation, and the encroachment on floodplains are major root causes of increased flood susceptibility in urban areas.
This interlinkage was evident in the catastrophic floods of 2022. An important dimension of these floods was the transition from riverine to urban flooding, which submerged one-third of the country under water. Since urban flooding is becoming the new normal, it is imperative that, with the help of predictions based on satellite modelling and climate forecasting data, urban planners can identify urban flooding hotspots and mitigate and manage urban flooding risks to enhance the resilience of cities.
Hotspots must be identified for the storage and reuse of water to address the issue of floods in urban and rural areas. An effective response strategy and mapping of areas where chances of inundation are high to medium should also be worked out. Early warning systems, regular cleaning of drains, and robust traffic planning can also help manage rainwater properly.
In urban areas, rainwater can contribute towards enhancing aquifers through the recharge of wells, where small wells are bored, and rainwater is discharged into boreholes through treatment so that water percolates and moves laterally by passing through soil. This approach is also called an artificial recharge.
Another way of handling rainwater is to capture rooftop rainwater, store it, and reuse it in daily routines. An initiative to recharge wells with rainwater could be adopted in Malir, where once fertile land was available for the growth of vegetables and orchards, but due to sand mining, the water table has gone down horribly. Small-scale rooftop rainwater harvesting techniques should be introduced along with floodwater ponds and reservoirs. Green belts in urban areas can help capture rainwater, which can enhance the water cycle.
In the case of Karachi, flood risk mapping, flood risk zoning, and a surface water management plan must be carried out. The authorities should strictly prevent people from living on riverbeds and from encroaching on drains. There has to be a focus on increasing the ‘green cover’ to act as support drainage basins to protect against river-based and tidal flooding as well.