Rawalpindi

In contrast to Balochistan and AJK, which host many rural communities, Rawalpindi is a large metropolitan area considered to be the fourth-largest city in Pakistan. Notably, Pakistan has the highest rate of urbanization in South Asia. The United Nations Population Fund estimates that nearly half of the country’s population will be living in urban cities by 2025. While economic opportunities are often the driving force behind internal migration, it is important to note that in recent years, many Pakistanis have left behind their rural villages to move to the city due to climate change, which is eliminating water sources and/or traditional means of livelihood.19

The United Nations notes how the “effects of urbanization and climate change are converging in dangerous ways.”20 Without proper sustainable urban planning, urbanization and climate change reinforce each other in a cycle whereby global warming increases the temperatures in urban areas and urbanization intensifies this process through heat islands, whilst creating air pollution that negatively affects the health of urban inhabitants - with many developing allergies and respiratory complaints from low air quality. Rawalpindi and many of the world’s greatest cities are built along rivers and coastlines which also make them more vulnerable when extreme weather events — such as cloudbursts — occur.

Rawalpindi’s climate is humid and subtropical – the seasons consist of long and hot summers, a monsoon, and short, milder winters with significant precipitation. 21 Indeed, the two greatest climate challenges currently facing Rawalpindi are heat waves and flooding, compounded with increasing water contamination issues.

Rawalpindi experiences some of the highest frequency and intensity of thunderstorms in Pakistan. Cloudbursts have been known to accompany these storms and beget treacherous effects on local inhabitants. Because cloudbursts release an enormous volume of water in an isolated area in a short time span, they have the potential to trigger flash flooding in cities that cause a massive amount of damage to infrastructure, homes, cars and even human life. Every year, around 400,000 residents of Rawalpindi are impacted by flash flooding in the city. 22 In addition to material impacts, residents may also experience health impacts from flash flooding as human waste is circulated and proliferated — due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and sewage disposal systems.

As global warming causes an increase in worldwide temperatures, the Indian subcontinent has endured several severe heat waves over the past decade. As of May 2022, Pakistan has already experienced a deadly and relentless heat wave, nearing 50 degrees celsius temperatures. In a groundbreaking UK Meteorological Office study, scientists attributed these heat waves to climate change, stating that “climate change is driving the heat intensity of these spells making record-breaking temperatures 100 times more likely.”23

Because of its urban character and lack of vegetation, Rawalpindi not only contends with heat waves but also with urban heat islands, a phenomenon whereby heat is trapped in the city, making the temperatures significantly hotter than the surrounding rural areas. 24

Since women in Rawalpindi bear more responsibilities than men in terms of collecting water and fuel for cooking, they have increased exposure to the outdoor environment, which during flooding or heat waves, can put them at adverse risk for health issues. In fact, according to a 2018 study focused on changing climate patterns and women’s health in Rawalpindi, 84% of women reported facing health problems due to changing weather patterns and more female than male respondents cited health difficulties from rising air pollution levels. 25

Climate change has also had an impact on women’s earning potential in Rawalpindi as many women explained that during intense heat waves they are unable to leave their homes to earn a livelihood. For singleparent households where the widow is the primary breadwinner for her children, the ability to earn a living without environmental impediments is critical.