Pakistan: ‘Only a mother knows how this pain feels.’

A year after devastating floods, many areas remain underwater in Pakistan, and an impending rainy season is quickly approaching. As threatening heat waves advance, it is the mothers and children on the frontlines of climate change who take the heaviest toll.

The impact of climate change, including floods and heatwaves, is threatening the health of mothers and children in Pakistan. In Pakistan, pregnant workers face the increased risk of heat stress, as physical labor in high temperatures can require greater physical exertion and therefore, increase the core body temperature — putting the mother and baby’s life in danger.

In total, close to 1.6 million children in flood areas could be suffering from severe acute malnutrition and are in need of urgent treatment. An estimated 7 million people, mainly children, adolescent girls, and pregnant and breastfeeding women, need immediate nutrition support.

Pakistan is the fifth most inhabited country with a population of 3 billion people, neighboring the first and second most populous countries, China and India. Despite causing under 1% of global greenhouse emissions, according to the U.N. Framework Convention of Climate Change 2021 report, Pakistan is one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Climate-related crises do not affect everyone equally. Mothers and children will suffer more than adults, with those in the poorest communities bearing the biggest burden. The scale of devastation is unlike anything we have seen before in Pakistan. It will take months, if not years, for Pakistan to recover. For Pakistan, it is not a question of whether another large-scale climate disaster will strike but when.