The Broken Ground: Unpacking Pakistan’s Climate Displacement Crisis

by: Dr. Eric Shahzar

Date: March 5, 2025

Pakistan’s climate displacement crisis is unfolding at an unprecedented scale, and uprooting millions through forced migration as a result of floods, droughts and glacial melt. Yet, policy response remains fragmented, leaving displaced communities trapped in cycles of poverty and insecurity. Disaster management efforts operate in silos, and urban centres like Karachi struggle to absorb the influx of climate migrants. With no structured response, climate displacement threatens to unravel Pakistan’s socio-political fabric. Urgent interventions—including climate vulnerability mapping, strengthened early warning systems, and planned relocations—are critical to mitigating the crisis before it spirals further.