{
  "id": 17165928,
  "title": "Pakistan’s climate defences under scrutiny amid Lancet warning",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/30/pakistans-climate-defences-under-scrutiny-amid-lancet-warning-17165928",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-30T02:57:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2040864/pakistans-climate-defences-under-scrutiny-amid-lancet-warning"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Health and environmental experts in Pakistan are demanding urgent action to tackle the growing climate-related health risks highlighted in a recent Lancet report. The 2026 Lancet Countdown report, released at the British Library in London, warns that climate change is outpacing global efforts to combat its impacts, calling for climate change to be recognized as a global health emergency. The report reveals that average annual heat-related deaths worldwide have increased by 36% since the Paris Agreement, with 2023 witnessing a record 710,000 deaths, and heat-related economic losses reaching an estimated $1.07 trillion in 2025.\n\nProfessor Dr Javed Akram, a former Punjab health minister, highlighted Pakistan's vulnerability, citing the devastating 2022 floods that displaced communities, damaged healthcare infrastructure, disrupted access to essential medicines, and heightened the risk of waterborne diseases and malnutrition. He criticized Pakistan's disaster management approach, emphasizing the need to shift from reactive to proactive policies, including the strengthening of heat-health action plans, establishing effective early-warning systems, climate-proofing hospitals, improving disease surveillance, and expanding access to safe water and sanitation.\n\nDr Zafar Mirza, a former special assistant to the prime minister on health, echoed these concerns, stating that climate change has become an escalating public health emergency in Pakistan. He warned of the dangers posed by extreme heat, flash floods, cloud bursts, and deteriorating air quality, which not only cause illness and death but also disrupt healthcare, contaminate water, undermine nutrition, deepen poverty, and cause psychological distress. Dr Mirza called for climate-resilient healthcare facilities, enhanced disease surveillance, early-warning systems, and coordinated efforts across various sectors.\n\nDr Muhammad Irfan Khan, a professor of environmental science and former dean at International Islamic University, expressed disappointment that Pakistan was not mentioned in the Lancet Countdown's launch statement, despite being highly exposed to climate-related disasters. He urged international institutions to give more visibility to vulnerable countries like Pakistan and ensure that affected communities participate in shaping climate responses.",
  "summary": "• Ex-health officials slam country’s ‘too little, too late’ disaster response; demand climate-proof hospitals, early warnings, heat action plans • Study calls for climate change to be declared global health emergency • Heat-related deaths rise 36pc since Paris accord; economic losses estimated at over $1tr ISLAMABAD: Health and environmental experts in Pakistan have called for urgent measures to…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}