Climate Hazards in Pakistan
In recent years, Pakistan has experienced both extreme heat and massive floods, with the risks projected to increase with the ongoing climate change1. Particularly in rural Pakistan (where around 62% of the population resides2), the effects of these climate-related events are compounded by extreme poverty, precarious subsistence agriculture, and other vulnerabilities3. In 2022, Pakistan faced catastrophic flooding which affected around 33 million and displaced about 10 million people, primarily from high-poverty rural areas4,5. Sindh (Pakistan’s southern province) experienced an astounding 726% increase in rainfall – an effect attributable to climate change6. District Badin in Sindh (population of about 1.9 million7) was heavily impacted and has remained in the grip of natural disasters in one form or another. Cyclones, heavy rains, droughts, and floods have followed each other with short intervals8. Due to the geographical location and having an ineffective drainage and irrigation system, the 2022 rainfall caused overflow of floodwater from 50% of Sindh into this single District. Sindh Government reported displacement of about 52,000 people in Badin, with agricultural losses totalling 80% in the district9,10.
Mental Health Landscape in District Badin
With only 2 psychiatrists per 1 million people in Pakistan, significant mental health treatment gaps persist, particularly in marginalized rural communities facing barriers in adapting to climate emergencies like extreme heat and flooding11,12. This rural population also faces a greater burden of psychiatric morbidity compared to urban areas while having low access to available quality mental healthcare11,13. Climate change events in District Badin have led to significant mental health distress, which has itself increased suicide risk (10 suicides were reported in the two months following Cyclone Biparjoy). A Badin native, who had to rebuild their house thrice due to flooding, narrates their climate-related distress, “Rebuilding is meaningless if I have to do it over and over again.”14
Badin District’s people moving to seek shelter & transporting livestock during floods (Photo courtesy of AKU team).