How green are Pakistan’s political manifestoes?
- 06-Feb-2024
Pakistan’s national elections are scheduled for February 8, 2024, but election manifestoes by the major parties were only released at the end of January. The Third Pole looks at how the major parties are – or are not – prioritising climate change in their manifestoes. The front runner PML-N’s ambitious manifesto Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz […]
Farmers who lost crops in Pakistan floods struggle without compensation
- 20-Jan-2023
Most farmers in Pakistan whose crops were destroyed in last year’s devastating floods do not have any insurance they can fall back on, leaving many thousands facing potential destitution. Smallholder farmers are particularly vulnerable – not only were their summer crops ruined, but they are now struggling to buy seeds, fertiliser and other inputs for […]
Farmers in mountainous areas of Pakistan feel the heat
- 30-Jun-2022
Since March, major cities in Pakistan have experienced unseasonable and extremely high temperatures. However, farmers in the mountainous areas of the Upper Indus Basin in the Hindu Kush Himalayas have also been affected. Last winter there was heavy rain and snowfall in the mountainous northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan. Despite this, Ashraf Khan, a farmer in the Yasin Valley in […]
Timely warnings avert loss of life from surging glacier in Pakistan
- 15-Jun-2022
On 7 May, as Pakistan reeled under an unusually long and severe heatwave, an ice-dammed lake burst in the Hunza valley of northern Pakistan. The flood swept away a historic bridge on the Karakoram Highway, destroyed six houses in Hassanabad village, agricultural land, orchards and two hydropower projects. Despite the severity of the disaster, no lives were lost. […]
Most tap water in northern Pakistan not fit to drink
- 06-Oct-2021
A report on water quality in Pakistan’s northern region of Gilgit-Baltistan shows high levels of pollutants in sources of drinking water, with serious implications for the health and safety of residents