ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has directed federal and provincial authorities to begin preparations immediately to prevent loss of life and property during next year’s monsoon season, calling for “early, coordinated and decisive action” to strengthen the country’s climate resilience.
Floods triggered by Pakistan’s 2025 monsoon season affected more than nine million people and destroyed 849,000 hectares of crops, according to a fresh assessment released this month by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations.
Pakistan remains one of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world despite contributing less than 1 percent to global greenhouse gas emissions. Over the past decade, the country has experienced repeated climate-driven disasters, from devastating floods to prolonged heatwaves and erratic monsoon patterns. The 2022 super floods, described by the UN as one of the worst climate catastrophes in recent times, submerged one-third of the country and caused over $30 billion in losses.
Chairing a high-level review meeting in Islamabad on government strategy against the worsening impacts of climate change, the prime minister approved the Ministry of Climate Change’s short-term preparedness plan and ordered its implementation without delay. He instructed the Ministry of Planning, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and provincial governments to jointly develop an integrated framework for monsoon and disaster management.
Sharif also asked for arrangements to convene a meeting of the National Water Council, emphasising the need for a national strategy on water management to reduce vulnerabilities linked to floods and extreme weather.
“Pakistan is a developing country, yet every third year we spend a major share of our GDP responding to climate-induced disasters,” the prime minister noted, adding that the country remains heavily exposed to climate shocks despite contributing “almost nothing” to global emissions. He warned that scarce national resources continue to be diverted away from development and towards managing the fallout of climate extremes.
The meeting was attended by federal ministers Ahsan Iqbal, Ahad Cheema, Muhammad Aurangzeb, Dr Musadik Malik, Attaullah Tarar and senior officials. Participants were briefed on global monsoon forecasts for next year, as well as short-, medium- and long-term climate resilience plans prepared by the Ministry of Climate Change.
The 2025 monsoon officially began on June 26 and brought continuous heavy rainfall, flash floods, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) across multiple regions. While the flooding ended in September, its humanitarian and economic consequences continued to deepen into late 2025, prompting repeated warnings from international agencies.
FAO’s December report warns that consecutive years of severe flooding have fundamentally reshaped Pakistan’s agricultural landscape, citing soil erosion, salinisation, crop losses, and widespread destruction of irrigation channels and rural infrastructure.
Earlier, in September, UNOCHA reported that nearly seven million people had been displaced during the monsoon season, with Punjab worst affected, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, and Gilgit-Baltistan.
