KEY POINTS
- “Girls in Action” expedition trains women in mountain ecology.
- Participants learn glacier navigation, rock climbing, and climate awareness.
- ICIMOD reports Pakistan’s glaciers melting 65 per cent faster since 2011.
- Melting glaciers threaten Indus River water supply for millions.
- Over 3,000 glacial lakes pose rising flood risks nationwide.
- Women vow to raise awareness and protect mountain ecosystems.
SWAT, Pakistan: In a trailblazing initiative, young women from Swat and Chitral have emerged as beacons of hope in Pakistan’s fight against climate change.
They recently participated in a 10-day expedition titled “Girls in Action,” aimed at studying glacier degradation in the mountain regions of northern Pakistan.
The expedition took place in September 2025, during which the participants received gruelling yet rewarding training in rock and ice climbing, glacier navigation, and high-altitude trekking training.
The team explored sections of the Passu Glacier—located near the 7,478-meter-high Passu Sar peak in Hunza District of Gilgit-Baltistan, which falls under the northwestern Karakoram climatic regime.
Empowering women through adventure
The initiative was organised by Mountain Wilderness International—a non-profit organisation dedicated to safeguarding ecosystems and promoting responsible adventure tourism through education and sustainable exploration.
It was conducted in collaboration with the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Department of Culture and Tourism and the Government Postgraduate Girls College Saidu Sharif, Swat.
The expedition was led by 90-year-old Prof. Carlo Alberto Pinelli, an Italian mountaineer, filmmaker and environmentalist renowned for his lifelong contributions to mountain conservation.
Between the 1960s and 1980s, he organised eight major mountaineering and exploration expeditions in the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush, successfully climbing several previously unscaled peaks.
We can clearly see how the glaciers are shrinking year after year. Urgent awareness campaigns are needed to educate women and students about mitigation and solutions.” – Laila Rauf, a Swat-based student
A recipient of Sitara-i-Imtiaz, Prof. Pinelli personally led the “Girls in Action” expedition as part of his lifelong mission to pass the torch of sustainable mountaineering and environmental awareness to younger generations.
He is best known for spearheading the 1990 “Free K2” cleaning expedition, which cleared tons of waste, abandoned altitude camps, and fixed ropes from one of Asia’s highest and most iconic peaks—a milestone in Pakistan’s mountain conservation history.
Supported by prestigious Italian mountaineering institutions, the mission married physical endurance with environmental stewardship, empowering local women to stand at the frontlines of the climate crisis.
The participants were carefully selected through a competitive merit-based process carried out by representatives of the Mountain Wilderness Asia Desk in Pakistan.
The selection involved interviews and fitness evaluations to ensure only the most committed women made the cut.
Women from various parts of Swat and Chitral who demonstrated strong motivation, leadership potential, and a commitment to raising climate awareness in their communities were chosen to take part in the expedition.
Witnessing the melting giants
During their trek across glaciers in Hunza, Swat, and Chitral, participants observed disturbing yet eye-opening signs of glacier retreat and environmental damage.
Maria Rahim, a twenty-two-year-old student from Swat, describes witnessing deep cracks and crevasses in the Passu Glacier, revealing the ice’s rapid melting.
“The glacier is melting right before our eyes,” she says, ringing alarm bells about the urgency for protective action.
Fellow participant Suneela Ismat, 22, also a student from Swat, expresses sorrow over the destruction but determination to fight human-driven factors causing the decline.
Manahil Akbar, 18, from Upper Chitral, an ice hockey athlete, resolves to raise local awareness, emphasising women’s pivotal role in community leadership.
Laila Rauf, 23, an MS student from Swat, voiced grave concern over the visible recession of glaciers in her region.
Our lives depend on these glaciers. If they vanish, our water, crops, and livelihoods will disappear with them. – Zarmina from Kalash, Chitral
“We can clearly see how the glaciers are shrinking year after year. Urgent awareness campaigns are needed to educate women and students about mitigation and solutions,” she says, stressing that women must be armed with knowledge to act as change agents.
Similarly, Zarmina from Kalash, Chitral, highlights the vulnerability of mountain communities to climate impacts.
“Our lives depend on these glaciers. If they vanish, our water, crops, and livelihoods will disappear with them,” she says, calling for a grassroots movement led by youth and women to safeguard the region’s fragile ecosystems.
Pakistan’s melting glaciers
According to the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Pakistan is home to over 7,000 glaciers, the highest number outside the polar regions, covering approximately 60,000 square kilometres, primarily in the Karakoram, Himalayas, and Hindu Kush mountain ranges.
These glaciers feed the Indus River Basin, sustaining the water supply for around 268 million people. However, these glaciers are diminishing at a breakneck speed. ICIMOD reports that glacier melting rates in northern Pakistan accelerated by 65 per cent from 2011 to 2020 compared to the previous decade.
Some glaciers retreat between 10 to 30 metres annually in the Himalayas, 5 to 10 meters in the Hindu Kush, and seven to 10 meters in the Karakoram.
The degradation of glaciers due to climate change has far-reaching consequences for Pakistan. ICIMOD highlights multiple critical risks: melting glaciers feed unstable glacial lakes, with over 3,000 such lakes mapped in Pakistan—at least 33 posing a high risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) in Swat, Chitral and Gilgit-Baltistan
The 2022 floods in Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan, were largely caused by a Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) triggered by the rapid melting of the Shishper glacier.
This catastrophic event resulted in the destruction of the strategically important Hassanabad Bridge on the Karakoram Highway (KKH) and caused severe damage to over 52 houses, hydro-power plants, cultivated land, orchards, and fibre optic infrastructure—underscoring nature’s ultimate power and unpredictability.
Beyond immediate disaster risks, glacier retreat threatens long-term water security. Glaciers act as natural reservoirs, releasing meltwater steadily through warmer months.
Accelerated melting initially increases flows but ultimately leads to a trickle instead of a torrent, impacting agriculture, hydropower generation, and drinking water for millions.
Projections warn that the Indus River’s flow could decline by up to 40 per cent by 2100 if current trends continue, severely affecting food and energy security.
Environmental degradation also extends to biodiversity loss and ecosystem disruption. Melting glaciers expose fragile soils, increasing erosion and landslide risks while fragmenting habitats for iconic species such as the snow leopard.
Rising temperatures and erratic precipitation patterns further tighten the noose on these mountain ecosystems.
Government’s steps for glacier protection
Pakistan’s Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination has launched a Glacier Conservation Strategy alongside Glacial Monitoring and Early Warning Systems in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral.
Using advanced hydrometeorological stations, these initiatives track temperature, glacial mass balance, and meltwater flows under projects such as the GLOF-II and Scaling Up of GLOF Risk Reduction, supported by UNDP and the Green Climate Fund.
Speaking at a high-level event marking the World Day of Glaciers in Islamabad, Federal Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb emphasised that climate change poses a make-or-break challenge for Pakistan, urging all hands on deck for adaptation and mitigation.
He warned that the country’s glaciers—responsible for over 60 per cent of its water supply—are melting rapidly due to rising temperatures, threatening national water security and increasing the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). Aurangzeb also called for global solidarity to tackle the mounting impacts of glacial retreat.
Training tomorrow’s climate leaders
The “Girls in Action” expedition uniquely combined ecological training with advanced mountaineering skills, fully instructed by women climbers.
This approach not only builds confidence but also teaches them the ropes of climate leadership within their communities.
According to Prof. Pinelli, these young women symbolise a new generation of “mountain guardians,”—a title earned through their hands-on experience and unyielding commitment to protecting fragile glacial ecosystems.
Far from being a one-off initiative, the expedition marks the dawn of a long-term movement, with participants expected to carry forward their environmental and educational activities in their home regions.
Annual training programmes are planned to keep the ball rolling and build a wider network of women climate advocates and mountain stewards across northern Pakistan.
Hope amid climate uncertainty
As Pakistan faces the brunt of the accelerating glacier loss—despite contributing minimally to global emissions—the leadership and advocacy of these women shine a light at the end of the tunnel.
Urgent action, including national glacier protection policies, climate education, and disaster risk management, is the need of the hour.
Their firsthand experiences serve as a wake-up call, mobilising communities to safeguard Pakistan’s fragile mountain ecosystems—an effort vital to the country’s survival.
They plan to set the wheels in motion by forming committees of active women in Chitral and Swat, who will conduct awareness-raising sessions in educational institutions and communities, ensuring that their message echoes from the mountains to the valleys.
