Husnain Aftab, Ali Hamza and Anas Ahmad
Climate change is rapidly emerging as one of Pakistan’s most critical concerns, with far-reaching consequences for environmental nutrition and public health. Not only are floods, droughts, heatwaves, and unpredictable rainfall changing ecosystems, but they are also having a direct impact on millions of people’s access to nutrients, food security, and dietary diversity. With agriculture accounting for around 20% of GDP and employing a large portion of the workforce, Pakistan, one of the top ten most climate-vulnerable nations in the world according to the Global Climate Risk Index, faces a dilemma whereby it is both a victim and a cause of environmental deterioration. The relationship between environmental stressors and nutrition outcomes shows a concerning pattern: malnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and diet-related diseases are getting worse due to climate change, especially for vulnerable populations like women, children, and low-income households.
Climate variability is putting the agricultural system under a great deal of stress. More frequent floods, like as the one that flooded a third of the nation in 2022, damaged standing crops including vegetables, wheat, and rice, and left millions of people without enough food. However, frequent droughts in Balochistan and Sindh are lowering the yields of major crops, especially maize and wheat, endangering calorie sufficiency. While decreasing glacier melt jeopardizes long-term water availability, rising temperatures speed up evapotranspiration, decreasing soil moisture and increasing the need for irrigation. Food shortages, price instability, and limited availability to nutrient-dense foods including fruits, vegetables, legumes, and animal products are all consequences of this mismatch, which also directly lowers agricultural output. The nutritional repercussions are apparent, with roughly 40 percent of children in Pakistan currently experiencing stunting and over 17 percent suffering from wasting, diseases that are projected to deteriorate due to climate stress
Environmental changes exacerbate micronutrient deficiencies, which are commonly referred to as “hidden hunger.” Deficits in iron, zinc, and vitamin A are still very common, and access to these vital nutrients is becoming even more restricted as a result of crop diversity losses brought on by climate change. According to scientific research, high carbon dioxide levels can lower the amounts of protein, iron, and zinc found in cereal grains like rice and wheat, which are cornerstones of the Pakistani diet. This results in a situation called “nutritional dilution,” where nutrient density is decreasing even when caloric intake is met. Anemia, poor maternal and infant health outcomes, decreased immunity, and impaired cognitive development are all caused by these deficits. Furthermore, the production of livestock is threatened by climate change due to heat stress, decreased availability of fodder, and an increase in disease outbreaks. This further limits the supply of protein from meat and dairy products, which are already out of reach for many people because of economic inequality.
In addition to being biological, the environmental nutrition dilemma is also social. The poor, who spend almost 60% of their income on food, are disproportionately impacted by rising food prices, which are driven by crop failures and broken supply systems. The double burden of malnutrition—where undernutrition and obesity coexist—is exacerbated when households turn to calorie-dense but nutrient-poor alternatives like refined wheat flour and fried foods because inflation makes nutrient-rich foods like milk, fruits, and pulses costly. Despite being less directly reliant on agriculture, urban residents are nevertheless at risk for non-communicable diseases like diabetes and hypertension when processed meals supplant fresh produce. Under the influence of climate change, this nutritional shift poses a long-term threat to productivity and public health, especially for Pakistan’s youth, who comprise a sizable portion of the population.
Concerns about food safety are also linked by scientific data to climate change. Increased humidity and warmer temperatures encourage the growth of pests, diseases, and mycotoxins in crops, polluting the food supply. For instance, climate stress exacerbates aflatoxin contamination in groundnuts and maize, which can harm a child’s development and increase the risk of cancer. Similarly, coastal regions like Sindh are experiencing a decline in soil fertility and drinking water quality due to rising sea levels and saline intrusion, which jeopardizes crop production and healthy nutrition. The malnutrition-infection loop, in which inadequate nutrition impairs immunity and recurrent infections exacerbate nutrient loss, is exacerbated by contaminated irrigation water during floods, which also spreads diseases like cholera and typhoid.
Environmental nutrition’s gendered aspects are just as important. Women are more susceptible to nutrient deficits since they typically eat last and least in households, especially in rural settings. Women are further marginalized by migration, relocation, and loss of livelihood brought on by climate change, which also restricts their access to wholesome food and health care during pregnancy and lactation—times that are critical for intergenerational health outcomes. Millions of people were uprooted by the floods in 2022, which increased the long-term risks of stunting and delayed brain development by depriving children of safe food and pregnant women of adequate prenatal nutrition. Thus, environmental nutrition under climate change is not simply a food production concern but a multidimensional public health emergency.
Strategies for adaptation and mitigation that are based on scientific advancement and legislative change are needed to address these issues. Resilience can be increased through climate-smart agriculture, which incorporates soil fertility management, effective irrigation techniques, and drought-resistant crop cultivars. Micronutrient deficits may be lessened by encouraging biofortified crops like vitamin A-enriched sweet potatoes or zinc-rich wheat and diversifying diets. In order to reduce post-harvest losses and maintain food availability, investments in local markets, cold storage, and supply chain infrastructure are crucial. Policy-wise, nutrition-sensitive measures must be incorporated into social safety nets such as Ehsaas and the Benazir Income Support Programme to make sure that cash transfers allow for the purchase of varied, healthful foods rather than merely meeting calorie requirements. Campaigns for breastfeeding, balanced diets, and less reliance on processed foods can increase resilience at the household level.
However, addressing climate change itself is still essential. Despite making up less than 1% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan is disproportionately affected. Nutrition-sensitive adaptation initiatives need to be supported by international climate funds, such as the Loss and Damage Fund created at COP27. In addition to reducing environmental degradation, investments in renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, and disaster-resilient infrastructure will ensure long-term food and nutrition security. Crucially, interdisciplinary research that connects nutrition, agricultural, and climate science is required to produce localized evidence that will help policymakers create successful solutions.
Climate change-related environmental nutrition in Pakistan is essentially an intersectional catastrophe that affects public health, agriculture, ecology, and economics. It emphasizes how increasing greenhouse gas emissions and changing weather patterns pose real risks to millions of people’s food security rather than being only theoretical environmental problems. The cycle of poverty, illness, and underdevelopment will worsen if nothing is done, but prompt adaptation can transform this obstacle into a chance for long-term, sustainable growth. It is now imperative for Pakistan’s resilience, stability, and human capital development to provide nutrition security in the face of climate change. The country’s future rests on acknowledging that nutrition justice and climate justice are inextricably linked, and that preserving the environment is equivalent to preserving the health and dignity of its citizens.
MNS- University of Agriculture, Multan
