In 2024, the Emergency Events Database recorded a total of 393 natural hazard-related disasters globally which affected 167.2 million people worldwide and caused 16,753 fatalities globally (ReliefWeb, 2025). Pakistan is currently ranked as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate-related events according to the Global Climate Risk Index (UN-HABITAT, 2023). Its complex, topographic and climatic conditions leave it particularly exposed and vulnerable to multiple climate-related hazards including cyclones, floods, drought, intense rainfall, smog, and earthquakes. Between 2005 and 2025, more than 91,000 people were estimated to have lost their lives to climate-related disasters across the country (Khan et al., 2026). Across this same period, climate related disasters resulted in over US$34 billion in economic damage (Khan et al., 2026). The total damage from the 2022 floods alone, which left one-third of the country submerged under water, was estimated to be in the region of PKR 3.2 trillion (US$14.9 billion) (UN-Habitat, 2023). The catastrophic damage on livelihoods was immense with an estimated 9.4 million acres of crops destroyed and approximately 1.1 million farm animals perishing due to the floods (Hafeez and Lei Win, 2023).
A large share of Pakistan’s population live in areas prone to climate related emergencies. A recent figure estimates that 47% of the population (95 million people) live in high-risk flood zones (Sajjad, 2025). Not only this, but large-scale climate-related events are — with increasing frequency — occurring simultaneously to one another, or else trigger other climate related events (Amnesty International, 2025; World Economic Forum, 2025). The 2022 floods, for example, were caused by record-setting heatwaves in March and April 2022, where temperatures exceeded 50°C. This drew in more intense monsoon moisture from the Arabian Sea later in the season, leading to the “flood on steroids” later that year (RGS, 2022). Elsewhere, in the Punjab province what used to be mist or fog has translated into two or three months of smog annually which grinds day-to-day activity — including schooling — to a halt (Ghani, 2025).
Compared to sectors such as health, agriculture, and livelihoods, the intersection of climate change and education in Pakistan has — until relatively recently — been under-researched. This is despite close to 78% of Pakistan’s youth reporting disruptions to their studies due to heatwaves, floods and infrastructure damage (UNICEF, 2021). However, following the severe floods of 2022 together with the rising awareness of Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate disasters, a growing body of emerging research has begun to explore this intersection. This synthesis paper focuses on five studies which were commissioned by the Data and Research in Education Research Consortium (DARE RC) focusing on system resilience to climate change, and draws on a series of discussions with the principal investigators of these studies. The synthesis paper discusses how climate change is no longer an external shock to Pakistan’s education system but rather a structural condition shaping access, continuity, and equity. Yet policy and data systems remain oriented towards short-term, disaster-specific responses, leaving slow-onset and cumulative disruptions insufficiently addressed.
