On the surface, the recent floods in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa seem like yet another tragic chapter in Pakistan’s relentless cycle of climate disasters. In just two days, more than 332 lives were lost, leaving families shattered and communities in mourning. The headlines, heavy with grief and statistics, tell a familiar story of destruction, sorrow, and resilience pushed to its limits.
Yet beneath these heartbreaking numbers lies another story – quieter, and often overlooked, but equally devastating. It is the story of the floods impact on livestock in Pakistan: animals swept away by raging waters, drowned in overflowing rivers, or left to perish in the aftermath. This hidden face of climate change in floods and natural disasters strikes directly at the heart of rural survival, where livestock are not just animals, but livelihoods, savings, food security, and dignity rolled into one.
Floods Impact on Livestock in Pakistan: The Silent Victims in the Hidden Effects of Climate Change
When the heart-rending videos of the floods surfaced, they showed not only destroyed homes and grieving families, but also terrified animals caught in the torrents. Helpless cows were dragged by the currents, goats clung to whatever ground they could find, and buffaloes – symbols of strength in Pakistan’s villages – were washed away like paper boats.
Human suffering is undeniable, ofcourse. However, this is not just about numbers, or rainfall patterns, or melting glaciers; It is about goats, cows, buffaloes, and sheep – the creatures that sustain millions of families. Their loss is more than an economic setback; it is an emotional and existential blow for the communities, who are already on the edge.
For rural families, the livestock is more than property. It is milk for children, and food security for households, or a form of savings in times of crisis. A single buffalo can represent a family’s financial backbone. Therefore, losing such animals in floods or other natural disasters is equivalent to losing one’s bank account, and pantry, or security blanket all at once. That, indeed, reveals the reality of the hidden effects of climate change on livestock.
Climate Change Behind the Rains:
What caused these deadly floods? Scientists have long been warning that global warming intensifies both rainfall and glacier melt. Pakistan, home to some of the largest glaciers outside the polar regions, is particularly vulnerable to climate change affect. When extreme rains coincide with accelerated melting, swollen rivers overflow, flash floods erupt, and destruction follows. This chain of events is no accident of nature, but the consequence of human-driven climate change that results in its hidden effects on livestock.
While Pakistan contributes less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, it ranks among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Injustice lies at the core of this crisis: those who have done the least to cause climate change are paying the heaviest price for it, in both human and animal lives.
Livestock and Livelihoods: An Overlooked Connection
In Pakistan’s rural areas, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, livestock is an inseparable part of daily life. Families rely on cows and buffaloes for milk, that is often their primary source of protein and nutrition. Sheep and goats are their sources of income, while donkeys and oxen are essential for transport and farming.
When the floods strike, these animals are often left behind in the chaos of evacuation. Families are forced to make impossible choices either to save their children, or save their animals. Most choose the obvious, but it leaves them broken. After the floodwaters recede, many families return not only to their destroyed homes but also to their empty barns. Their livelihoods literally vanish overnight by climate change effect on livestock.
In simple economic terms, the loss of livestock can plunge families into years of poverty. In social terms, it fractures communities, particularly when their entire herds are lost. And in emotional terms, it is a grief rarely spoken about – a grief for the animals that stood beside families through thick and thin, and only to be claimed by climate chaos.
The Global Responsibility:
It is tempting to look at such tragedies as “local disasters, but the reality is largely global – the effects of global climate change. Who is responsible for these floods? The immediate culprits are heavy rains and melting glaciers. However, behind the hidden effects of climate change in floods or natural disasters lies a warming planet, driven by centuries of fossil fuel use by the industrialized nations and wars by the expansionists.
This raises an uncomfortable but urgent question: why should the farmers of Swat Valley, District Buner, Shangla, Dir, Bajaur, Malakand, Chitral, Abbottabad, Mansehra, or elsewhere suffer because of emissions produced by factories and cars in far-off continents? Why should their cows drown, and their goats vanish, or their families starve because the world’s biggest polluters failed to cut emissions in time?
The loss of livestock in Pakistan is not just a local tragedy, but a symbol of climate injustice. It was the consequence of climate change impact on livestock. It calls for global accountability and urgent action, particularly under the World Court landmark climate ruling.
What Needs to Change:
1. Stronger Climate Resilience: Rural communities need flood-resilient shelters for their livestock, just as people need safe housing. Protecting animals protects their livelihoods.
2. Early Warning Systems: Timely alerts could allow families to move both themselves and their animals to higher grounds.
3. Compensation and Insurance: Just as governments provide relief for human casualties, compensation for livestock loss must also be prioritized.
4. Global Climate Justice: The wealthy nations are the most responsible for emissions. Therefore, they must contribute to the loss and damage funds that directly help the vulnerable countries like Pakistan.
Beyond Numbers: A Call for Compassion
It is easy to measure the human casualties in numbers, but the grief for the lost animals rarely makes it to official records. Yet anyone who has lived in a village knows that how deep and emotional is the bond between a farmer and his animals. A cow is not just an asset for them; it is a companion. A goat is not just livestock; but it is part of the family. When floods claim these animals, they take away not just their livelihoods, but also hope and dignity.
Recognizing this hidden toll of climate change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa floods, it is essential if we are to fully understand the impact of climate change in our lives.
Conclusion:
The story of the hidden toll of climate change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa floods is not just about destroyed homes and lost lives. It’s also a story of animals swept away, families left destitute, and livelihoods erased. It is a reminder that climate change spares no one – not humans, not animals, and not lands.
As the world debates climate agreements and emissions targets, the silent cries of the animals in Pakistan’s floods also demand to be heard. the hidden toll of climate change in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa floods needs attention, because until we address the full cost of climate change – the human and non-human alike – we will not truly understand what is at stake.
