Climate and Governance at Crossroads: Economic Lessons from Pakistan’s 2025 Flood Crisis

Abstract

The 2025 floods across Pakistan revealed the compounded risks arising from climate stressors and governance failures. Severe impacts were recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Karachi, and southern Punjab, where widespread displacement, loss of life, and destruction of infrastructure intensified existing socio-economic vulnerabilities. Beyond the human toll, the floods disrupted agricultural production, trade networks, and industrial activity, adding significant fiscal strain through reconstruction costs. This study adopts a secondary data analysis approach, drawing on government reports, economic assessments, academic literature, credible news outlets, satellite imagery, and official statistics to examine the disaster’s multi-dimensional impacts. Data were systematically analysed to trace recurring patterns and drivers of vulnerability, with attention to the interaction between climate stressors—such as glacial melt, erratic monsoon rainfall, and deforestation—and governance challenges, including weak enforcement of regulations, unplanned urbanisation, and institutional fragmentation. A comparative analysis of the 2010, 2022, and 2025 floods highlights persistent structural weaknesses and their role in shaping disaster outcomes. Findings underscore the framing of the 2025 floods as a climate–governance crisis, calling for integrated governance, stronger regulatory enforcement, and climate-resilient infrastructure to mitigate recurring cycles of loss and recovery.