ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday warned that accelerating glacier melt poses growing risks to lives, infrastructure and water security, as climate change intensifies extreme weather events across the country’s northern regions.
The warning comes after a series of climate-linked disasters, including 2025 floods that the government estimates caused losses of Rs822 billion (around $2.9 billion) and claimed more than 1,000 lives across the country. Authorities say the deluge was driven in part by rising temperatures and changing glacier patterns in the Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalaya region.
The latest events follow catastrophic floods in 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people and submerged large parts of the country, underscoring its vulnerability to climate shocks despite contributing minimally to global emissions.
“Climate change is accelerating glacier melt and increasing the likelihood of glacial lake outburst floods,” President Asif Ali Zardari said in a message marking World Day for Glaciers, which falls on Mar. 21.
“The extreme heat and weather events witnessed in northern Pakistan in 2025, which led to flash floods, landslides, loss of lives and damage to infrastructure, served as a clear warning.”
