Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan – Once full of orchards and thriving communities, regions within the Karakoram mountain range crumble under climate change. Communities such as Hassanabad and Badswat have experienced the “devastating power” of glacial lake outburst floods. This is due to glaciers melting rapidly destabilizing the terrain.
Last May 2022, a glacial flood swept through Hassanabad, destroying homes, bridges, and orchards in its wake. Komal, an 18-year-old resident, recounts the chaos: “This morning, everything was normal.” But by evening, she says, her house and the ground beneath it were gone. A burst of a glacial lake upstream had suddenly transformed this tranquil river into a torrent of destruction.
Changing Climate, Changing Lives
Climate change experts blame these disasters at the hands of their hastened melting, and they say that if control measures are not taken on global emissions, Himalayan glaciers could lose as much as two-thirds of their volume by 2100. This is what the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development says.
“These regions are highly exposed,” said Deedar Karim of the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat. “With increasing temperatures, there is more glacial melt, causing floods and landslides that damage critical infrastructure, homes, and livelihoods.”
Disaster Preparedness and Limited Resources
Authorities are doing their best to minimize the impacts of these disasters in Gilgit-Baltistan, but resources are not ready to respond. According to Zubair Ahmed, Disaster Management Authority, early warning systems are installed in only 16 of 100 identified high-risk valleys. “We are doing what we can, but our resources are limited,” he said.
The villages of today, as in the case of Passu, now hold evacuation drills regularly. The villagers are provided with first aid and rescue training. However, the volunteers said that the efforts may be of little use during extreme disasters.
Agonizing Future Ahead for Local Communities
It is a painful but increasingly necessary decision for families like Komal’s and Sultan Ali’s, who have lived in the region for generations. “We have no other place to go,” said Komal. “The condition is clear already.”
Pakistan is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, although the country has been emitting less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Local officials underlined that Pakistan needs international support as the situation is getting worse day by day.
“This is a global issue,” Ahmed said. “We can’t prevent such things from happening, but we have to prepare our people for these things.”
While the climate changes the face of the country, the future of the communities residing in Gilgit-Baltistan is uncertain, at least, because people now have started thinking about survival and adaptation.
