Pakistan contributes less than one per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet consistently ranks among the countries most vulnerable to climate change. The country faces a unique combination of environmental pressures. Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent. Heatwaves are growing more intense. Monsoon patterns are becoming increasingly unpredictable. Floods and droughts are occurring with greater regularity. To the north, glaciers are under increasing stress. To the south, rising sea levels threaten coastal ecosystems and communities. Between them lies the Indus Basin, the lifeline of Pakistan’s economy and civilisation. These developments are not temporary anomalies. They are indicators of a changing climatic reality that will shape Pakistan’s future for decades to come.

Pakistan possesses more than 7,000 glaciers, one of the largest concentrations outside the polar regions. The glaciers of the Himalaya, Karakoram and Hindu Kush mountain systems function as vast natural reservoirs, feeding the Indus River system and sustaining agriculture, hydropower generation, industry and domestic water supplies. Climate change is accelerating glacial retreat across much of the region. In the immediate term, accelerated melting increases the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), flash floods and downstream flooding. In the longer term, however, shrinking........

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