Displaced by Climate, Ignored by Law

Hadia Usman

Rawalpindi: Pakistan ranks among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world, facing recurrent natural disasters that have displaced millions in recent years.

The 2025 floods have once again caused widespread destruction, forcing large populations to leave their homes, with the number of displaced persons rising each day.

While governance failures and urban encroachments contribute significantly to urban flooding, the increasing intensity of climate change is also a critical factor, manifested in heavier monsoon rains and accelerated glacial melt in the country’s northern regions.

In particular, the rising frequency and severity of cloudbursts – a phenomenon triggered by rapidly rising warm air in mountainous areas that absorbs atmospheric moisture and abruptly cools to produce extreme rainfall – have worsened the risk of flooding.

The combined effect of glacial melt and intense rainfall leads to flash floods that sweep away housing and infrastructure in both rural and urban areas, leaving thousands displaced or compelling others in high-risk zones to migrate pre-emptively.

The displaced in such scenarios are commonly referred to as climate displaced persons ­­­­- those who lose their homes and livelihoods due to disasters caused by climate change.

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In Pakistan, these populations are typically internally displaced, yet they are not recognized as a distinct legal category under the existing legal framework. Moreover, no national policy specifically addresses their vulnerabilities, rights, or resettlement.

This absence of recognition and protection exacerbates their precarious conditions. For instance, the devastating floods of 2022 displaced around 8 million people and affected 33 million across the country, contaminating water supplies and leaving 5.4 million citizens dependent on unsafe water. However, despite these staggering numbers, little structural change has occurred since then. In 2025, during the ongoing monsoon season, an estimated 1.3 million people have already been displaced, with the figure expected to rise as rainfall continues.

Cloudbursts in mountainous districts pose heightened concerns, as flash floods triggered by extreme rainfall threaten entire communities. At the same time, rural-to-urban migration has accelerated due to repeated rural flooding, but urban areas are themselves increasingly exposed to displacement risks from heavy downpours.

This cycle of annual climate-induced displacement has far-reaching consequences, as millions are forced to seek shelter, food, and clean water each monsoon season, yet the state continues to operate without a coherent national policy or legal framework for their recognition and protection.

The lack of such measures not only perpetuates humanitarian concerns but also poses economic, infrastructural, and political challenges for Pakistan.

Climate change in this context acts as a threat multiplier. It intensifies existing social vulnerabilities, particularly for marginalized groups who are already deprived of basic needs such as safe drinking water.

Displacement heightens the risk of disease outbreaks, while the absence of protective frameworks leaves women, children, and marginalized communities more exposed to sexual violence, domestic abuse, and child exploitation.

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These conditions highlight the urgent need for comprehensive legislation that goes beyond immediate humanitarian aid to address long-term resettlement and ensure the rights and protection of climate displaced persons.

There have been claims that the federal government introduced the Climate Refugees Rights and Protection Bill 2024 in the National Assembly. If passed, this legislation would mark a groundbreaking global precedent, as it would formally recognize climate displaced persons as refugees rather than just internally displaced persons.

Under existing international law, refugee status is reserved for those facing persecution, and climate-induced displacement does not fall under this category. Most states therefore classify climate displaced persons as internally displaced persons.

Pakistan’s potential move to reframe this narrative by recognizing them as refugees would not only position the country at the forefront of climate justice but could also encourage other states to adopt similar frameworks.

Such recognition would have further international implications, as Pakistani citizens displaced across borders due to climate disasters might gain legal recognition and protection in host countries if other states followed suit.

Pakistan’s escalating climate displacement crisis underscores the urgency of establishing a national policy or legal framework tailored to climate displaced persons.

The recurring displacement from floods, cloudbursts, and glacial melt is not merely a humanitarian issue but a structural challenge that demands long-term solutions.

Without clear legal recognition and protections, millions of citizens remain at risk of recurring displacement, exposure to violence, and loss of access to basic necessities.

Passing the Climate Refugees Rights and Protection Bill 2024 could set a global precedent and provide a lifeline for vulnerable populations, while also strengthening Pakistan’s resilience against the multiplying threats posed by climate change.

The writer is an analyst and communications specialist working on climate resilience and sustainable development. She can be reached at hadiausman98@gmail.com.

The article is the writer’s opinion, it may or may not adhere to the organization’s editorial policy.