Earlier this month in Jacobabad, Sindh Province, Pakistan, temperatures surpassed a threshold that was “too hot for human tolerance”. The thermometer read over 52 degrees C (126 degrees F) with humidity. Experts note that if this temperature persists for more than a few hours, it could result in organ failure or even death. This milestone was reached far sooner than scientists and climate models had predicted. Jacobabad is one of two cities known to have crossed this threshold. Additionally, their research indicates that “this region of Pakistan along the Indus Valley is believed to be particularly vulnerable to climate change”, causing temperatures to rise even further in the near future. 

While Pakistan was recording temperatures that were too hot for human tolerance, the media was largely focused on the heat wave across the United States. 

Pakistan was recently found to be one of the top ten countries most vulnerable to climate change. With this, displacement will continue to rise. According to a report published by ActionAid, Bread for the World, and the Climate Action Network- South Asia (CANSA), it is expected that even with aggressive emissions reductions, the number of climate migrants linked to slow-onset impacts of sea-level rise, water stress, crop yield reductions, ecosystem loss, and drought in Pakistan will displace upwards of 600,000 people by 2030. Without aggressive action, that number is expected to be closer to 1,200,000. 

Each region of Pakistan is dealing with the effects of climate change in their own way. In Balochistan, leaders are looking to dams and large scale tree-planting campaigns to help stem the worst effects of drought as part of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Clean Green Pakistan program. With a majority of residents of Balochistan relying on agriculture and fishing for sustenance, “more gradual impacts can also cause displacement. In dry, rural regions, acute water shortages have caused farmers, fisher people, and others with water-dependent livelihoods to migrate to cities. This climate-induced mass displacement is compounded by two enabling factors: the large number of people who work in the agricultural sector, and densely populated coastal areas,” according to a study from the Wilson Center. 

In the disputed territory of Jammu- Kashmir, deadly wild animal encounters are on the rise. The most recent attack resulted in the death of a five-year-old girl. Experts are calling it  “a man-made disaster,” as deforestation and food scarcity in the region lead to increased animal-human encounters.

Additionally, flooding has been widespread throughout the entire country, largely due to rapidly melting glaciers. The glacial melt not only dwindles fresh water reserves at the basin, but also leads to intensified flooding of the Indus Valley River System. Melting glaciers “are the biggest economic, human and national-security threat Pakistan will ever face,” said climate policy consultant Dawar Butt. Individuals residing in the northern region of Pakistan have noticed the glaciated margin pulling back further each year, part of the larger Himalayan and Karakoram glacial range that is in rapid retreat causing disasters throughout Pakistan, India, and Nepal. As previously reported by Climate Refugees, there is a need for governments in the region to engage with a combination of experts and local traditional knowledge on how to safeguard both the environment and human life in order to ensure appropriate climate action is taken.  

The CANSA report recommends that moving forward, leadership within Pakistan must stress the importance of social protection measures for displaced persons, ending fossil fuel subsidies, moving towards renewable energy alternatives, and agroecology. In turn, the international community must increase funding from bilateral international organizations. CANSA Director Sanjay Vashist also emphasized that climate-induced migration must be looked at from an intersectional perspective. 

The Minister of State for Climate Change, Zartaj Gul, supports this idea, and has since commissioned “Climate Induced Migration Among Women: Stories from Muzaffargarh and Tharparkar Districts Pakistan”, a study aimed at specifically highlighting the drivers of migration and their impacts on women in two districts of Pakistan. It is important to note that by focusing only on women, the study leaves out key issues affecting those who fall under a broader definition of gender, such as non-binary or gender non-conforming, as well as the unique challenges faced by all genders. For a more in-depth discussion, read Climate Refugees’ PERSPECTIVES feature The Gendered Impacts of Climate Displacement.