Confronting Climate Anxiety: One Year After the Floods in Pakistan

Pakistan, 16 November 2023 – One year ago, Pakistan experienced unprecedented floods. Over 33 million people were directly affected, with a staggering 20.6 million requiring urgent humanitarian assistance. The consequences were dire – 7.9 million people were displaced, and over 2 million houses were destroyed.

Although the water has receded, one year later, the scars of the natural hazard remain fresh. Over 1.5 million people are still displaced. The most basic necessities, such as food and shelter, continue to be out of reach for a large portion of the flood-affected population, more than 40 per cent of whom rely on humanitarian aid for survival.

While the immediate concerns of food, shelter, and water have been largely documented, climate anxiety among flood-affected communities across Pakistan has failed to make headlines.

Although climate anxiety is a newly coined term, it reflects a distress that has long been felt by these communities.

Amidst the increasing threat of climate change, floods in Pakistan have grown more frequent, resulting in some communities facing an unending cycle of displacement and despair. For these communities, the fatigue caused by climate-change-induced disasters has begun to take its toll. They are not only exhausted but also more anxious than ever about the potential threat of cascading disasters.

Men, women and children alike in these flood-affected areas are living in fear of an uncertain future. They grapple with the harsh reality that they lack the necessary preparations to face another flood, and they have no clear plans for shelter should their already fragile homes become uninhabitable.

These communities are in a constant struggle to meet their basic survival needs, and the anxiety about recurrent climate-related disasters adds an additional layer of uncertainty to their lives.

Despite contributing very little to the current global climate breakdown, Pakistan remains one of the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. As the nation grapples with the devastating impact of climate change, climate anxiety will likely continue to rise, especially among the most vulnerable populations.