ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched consultations as it prepares to formulate its first National Urban Strategy to protect cities from flash floods, heatwaves and unchecked construction, the climate ministry said on Sunday, as the country grapples with worsening climate risks and rapid urbanization.
Pakistan is highly vulnerable to climate change and has increasingly faced extreme weather events ranging from heatwaves and droughts to heavy rains and floods in recent years that have killed thousands.
The development took place during a high-level workshop organized by the climate change ministry and the United Nations-Habitat Pakistan to address recurring climate disasters, including northern region flash floods, urban flooding in Karachi and Islamabad’s upscale housing societies. UN-Habitat is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal to provide adequate shelter for all.
“Warning that Pakistan’s cities are rapidly turning into ‘epicenters of climate vulnerability’, the federal government has initiated consultations on the country’s first-ever National Urban Strategy aimed at protecting urban centers from floods, heatwaves, water shortages and unregulated construction,” the climate change ministry said in a statement.
Climate Change Secretary Aisha Humera Moriani said Pakistani cities are becoming “urban heat islands, flood traps and water-stressed zones” as climate risks were never integrated into the way they should have been planned and governed.
“The hard truth is that no national framework currently exists to systematically address these interconnected challenges,” Moriani was quoted as saying.
She said Pakistan’s urban growth was outpacing its ability to withstand climate shocks, highlighting that 36 percent of the population currently lived in urban areas.
Moriani predicted that more than half of Pakistan’s population would be living in urban areas within two decades, adding that encroachments, poor waste management and outdated drainage systems “dangerously increased” urban flooding risks.
The official said the proposed National Urban Strategy would align with Pakistan’s National Climate Change Policy (NCCP) 2021, National Adaptation Plan (NAP) 2023 and commitments under the Paris climate agreement.
NCCP is Pakistan’s main policy framework for addressing climate change through adaptation and climate-resilient development across key sectors, whereas the NAP is a practical action plan to strengthen Pakistan’s resilience against climate impacts such as floods and heatwaves.
Pakistan has struggled to mitigate the impacts of rising floods and climate disasters in recent years. In 2025, floods in northern areas damaged hotels and guesthouses built on natural floodplains, while upscale housing societies in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad, also experienced flash floods.
Torrential rains battered several parts of Pakistan in late March and early April, with the nationwide death toll from rain-related incidents crossing 80.
At least 1,037 people were also killed between June 26 and Oct. 1 during last year’s monsoon season.
