Climate change poses a fundamental threat to human health, affecting both the physical environment and aspects of natural and human systems. The Asia-Pacific region is vast and geographically diverse, spanning from the Himalayas to the tiny island states in the Pacific. Due to this diversity, the region encompasses all climate zones, resulting in a wide range of weather patterns from the monsoons in South and Southeast Asia, tropical cyclones in the Pacific, and the extreme snowy winter in Siberia.
The Asia-Pacific region faces a daunting spectrum of natural disasters and stands at the forefront of the climate crisis. Its coastal regions are particularly threatened by rising sea levels and cyclones, while its lowlands and the central dry zone are vulnerable to the impacts of floods and droughts. A person living in Asia-Pacific is six times more likely to be affected by disaster events than someone living outside the region.
Against this backdrop, it is pertinent to note that as the climate crisis intensifies, the Asia- Pacific region stands at the centre of both its worsening impacts and its most transformative potential solutions. This story series aims to capture the disproportionate impact of the climate emergency on vulnerable communities in the region and the human stories that drive communities in building and maintaining resilience in the face of the climate crisis.
Pakistan is a high-risk country according to the World Risk Report, ranking 11th highest among 193 countries. The 2025 Climate Risk Index by GermanWatch, however, places Pakistan as the highest due to recent high economic losses. Rising global temperatures have caused glaciers in Pakistan’s northern regions to melt more rapidly, increasing the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) by a significant degree. Erratic weather patterns have also led to extreme weather events occurring at an alarming rate, such as major floods in 2010 and 2022, a deadly heat wave in mid-2024, and toxic smog density in late 2024. These events have affected more than 50 million lives and caused a significant damage to the economy.