In 2025, Pakistan’s Punjab province is facing historic levels of flooding that have already affected two million people. The province, a key hub for wheat production and the country’s agricultural center, has housed makeshift relief camps for flood-affected residents. Flooding in this region is not unprecedented. In 2022, the Punjab province and its surrounding areas were devastated by extreme monsoon rains that led to flooding. To understand the effects of these floods on households, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) conducted a study in the district of Rahim Yar Khan (RYK) in southern Punjab. Ninety-eight percent of surveyed people said that floods were the main reason they had to leave their homes.
Recurring floods are driving migration, water shortages, poverty risks and putting pressure on urban areas already struggling to cope. Without adequate planning, climate-driven internal migration can expose vulnerable populations to serious socio-economic and security risks. To mitigate these dangers, the Center for Global Development recommends that governments faced with climate-driven internal migration strengthen information and support networks, as well as institutional policies, to promote safe and dignified movement.
Recognizing the urgent need to address these challenges, IWMI is generating evidence to shape inclusive policies that protect vulnerable groups — especially women and children — facing climate-driven migration and displacement. IWMI’s research in the region of RYK found high levels of food and water insecurity in migrant households, along with limited access to early flood warnings for women and girls. These findings highlight the need for more inclusive approaches to policies addressing climate-driven displacement.
Water risks are forcing internal displacement
The 2022 floods in the RYK region destroyed crops, adversely affecting the livelihoods of many surveyed residents, most of whom depended on agricultural labor. Flood-affected areas also faced a loss of 70-80% of cotton crops, 82 livestock and nearly 45,000 kilograms of stored wheat grain. To better understand these impacts, IWMI researchers conducted focus group discussions with climate migrants in Pakistan affected by the floods.
A woman from Khanpur who attended IWMI’s focus group discussions recalled: “Due to the flooding, the crops were completely destroyed. The harvest was ready, but the flood came, and all our essentials for living, including food and water, flowed away. Animals were washed away, and some even died, causing significant losses. Due to the water, houses collapsed and many people were injured. Valuable documents also got soaked in water, including our identity cards. Everything was gone, so we decided to migrate.”
The floods destroyed land and crops, and disrupted access to safe water. Climate migrants reported facing challenges in obtaining clean and safe drinking water due to long wait times, accessibility and safety.
Another woman impacted by the RYK floods explained: “Can you imagine waking up one morning, going to the tap for a drink and finding the water yellow and stinky? It affects everything, from drinking to cooking, bathing and even giving water to our animals. We had no choice but to leave our homes because there just wasn’t enough clean water left for everyone.”
These accounts spotlight an urgent reality. Climate-induced migration cannot be addressed without stronger systems for disaster risk governance.
Mitigating climate-driven internal migration requires disaster risk preparedness
Migration governance and disaster management are inseparably linked. Effective response requires more than regulating the movement of people; it depends on policies that support the everyday lives of those at risk of displacement and those already displaced. Strengthening disaster management systems can help reduce the risks that drive migration.
Pakistan struggles to manage responsibility in disaster management. With 27 stakeholders and 39 ministries involved in disaster management, coordination issues and inefficiencies have impeded effective responses. The survey conducted by IWMI during the 2022 floods found that 58% of respondents did not receive early warning information, highlighting the need for stronger disaster management systems on par with the needs of local communities. Strengthening migration governance, therefore, requires improving disaster planning to ensure policies are effectively implemented.
In recent years, Pakistan has made promising strides to improve its national disaster management planning. Since the country’s adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Management, the government of Pakistan, in partnership with the National Disaster Risk Management Fund and several NGOs, INGOs and UN agencies, developed educational measures and institutional mechanisms, alongside improved coordination among authorities at the national, provincial and local levels to support its flood relief systems. These improvements have also contributed to greater awareness of Pakistan’s disaster and climate risks, supporting the development of disaster risk reduction strategies in alignment with international agreements, such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the Paris Climate Agreement. However, the country still lacks a reliable early warning system.
Despite these efforts, Pakistan still faces considerable challenges in improving its disaster and climate resilience due to limited financial resources, weak local capacity and high vulnerability to climate change.
Using data to inform migration and disaster policy
IWMI’s research identified key challenges in Pakistan’s disaster response planning, including a reactive approach and limited community engagement, leading to fragmented and inefficient responses. To address these challenges, policies should be proactive, inclusive and supported by greater interagency coordination.
To address these gaps, IWMI’s recommendations focus on enhanced data collection to support response and recovery preparedness and decision-making, increased investment in early warning systems, the development of community-based flood mitigation and preparedness programs and increased funding for more climate-resilient strategies, particularly nature-based solutions.
Strengthening both migration governance and disaster management offers a pathway to resilience, helping break cycles of displacement and create a more secure future for the people of Pakistan.
