Pakistan İkinci En Sıcak Yılını Kaydetti, Kuzey Bölgelerde 65 Yılın Rekoru

Pakistan experiences back-to-back ‘warmest years’

A rickshaw driver drinks water as the feels-like temperature in Karachi soared past 54 degrees Celsius.—Online • Rapid warming spikes sharply up north; AJK, GB, KP record highest annual temperatures in 65 years • Extreme heat claims over 200,000 lives in Europe since 2022; El Nino threatens to compound weather extremes • Monsoon delayed in India ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded its second-warmest year in 65 years in 2025, intensifying extreme floods and creating a systemic risk to the nation’s economy, according to the Economic Survey 2025-26. Pakistan’s hottest year was 2024, the survey reported 2025 as the second-warmest year in 65 years, marking consecutive years of record high temperatures. The country experienced a national annual mean temperature of 23.9°C last year, 1.09°C warmer than the 22.8-degree average. Despite contributing less than 1pc to global emissions and 0.4 percent historically, Pakistan bears a disproportionately high burden of global climate change. “Climate change is no longer a distant or abstract threat to the country but a present reality,” the survey stated, citing an escalating challenge to the economy and population. Over the last 50 years, the annual mean temperature in Pakistan has increased by approximately 0.5°C, with projections indicating a further rise of 3 to 5 degrees by the end of this century. In 2025, northern regions warmed intensively. Temperature anomalies reached 1.24°C in Gilgit-Baltistan, 1.29°C in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and 1.56°C in Azad Jammu and Kashmir recording their highest annual temperatures in 65 years. Meanwhile, the country received 288.5 millimetres of rainfall in 2025, about 3pc below the long-term average of 297.6 millimetres. Rainfall distribution remained uneven. Sindh, Punjab, and GB recorded above-average rainfall, while KP and Balochistan remained below average. The monsoon season from July to September recorded rainfall 23pc above average, while the year started with significantly below-average rainfall during the January-March period. These phenomena are accelerating glacial melt and altering monsoon dynamics, creating pronounced rainfall variability. Fewer rainy days with higher intensity have shifted monsoon patterns to the south, changing flood risks. This resulted in the 2025 floods affecting all provinces, mirroring the 2022 devastation. However, the survey warned Pakistan may fail to fulfil its United Nations climate commitments due to constrained international financing. The World Bank previously estimated baseline climate-resilient investment needs at $348 billion up to 2030, implying an additional requirement of approximately $217.7bn to meet the $565.7bn total investment needed. ‘Over 200,000 lives lost’ As Pakistan endures record temperatures, extreme heat is claiming lives globally. More than 200,000 lives have been lost to the “silent killer” of heat in Europe since 2022, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday, after a heat wave saw some countries record their highest-ever May temperatures. “The impacts of climate change are a clear and present danger, and its most immediate and lethal manifestation is extreme heat,” said Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO’s Europe director. Extreme heat severely impacts the elderly, young, and those with health issues, leading to dehydration and heatstroke. Most of the 200,000 deaths were preventable, according to Kluge, who noted this is just the beginning, as millions more suffer mentally and physically. Kluge said Europe is “warming faster than any other continent”. The WHO advises authorities to establish effective heat-warning systems. Kluge emphasised that individual efforts are insufficient against a systemic crisis, advocating for a coordinated, powerful institutional response. El Nino arrives Compounding these global weather extremes, the El Nino phenomenon has arrived, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday. Scientists expect it to intensify into the end of the year, potentially reaching historic strength. El Nino is a natural climate phenomenon that warms surface temperatures in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, bringing worldwide changes in winds, rainfall, and erratic weather. Scientists fear it will exacerbate the heat of a planet already warming from burning fossil fuels. “There is a 63pc chance of a very strong El Nino during November-January that would rank among the largest El Nino events in the historical record going back to 1950,” the NOAA advisory read. Major events follow familiar patterns, including droughts across parts of the Amazon, Indonesia, and Australia, disrupted monsoons in India, and shifting rainfall. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the world to treat the weather as an urgent warning, stating, “El Nino conditions will pour fuel on the fire of a warming world”. India monsoon slows The anticipated disruptions are already manifesting regionally, as India is expected to receive below-average rainfall over the next two weeks. “Western disturbances” have slowed the progress of the annual monsoon, two senior weather bureau officials said on Thursday. Nearly half of India’s farmland lacks irrigation, and about half the population earns its livelihood from agriculture. Lower rainfall could delay the planting of summer-sown crops. The June-to-September monsoon typically begins lashing the southern state of Kerala around June 1 before covering the entire country by mid-July, but its onset was delayed by three days this year. In June, India’s rainfall was 26.5pc below normal. The weather department predicts the monsoon season will bring 90pc of average rainfall, with June’s rainfall at 92pc due to El Nino. With input from Agencies Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2026