Pakistan’s cities among world’s least resilient to climate disasters: report

Several Pakistani cities have been ranked among the world’s least resilient to climate disasters, with Hyderabad, Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi all featuring in the bottom 10 of a new assessment of 72 major cities.

The report, by geospatial analytics company AlphaGeo, measures not only cities’ exposure to climate hazards but also their ability to adapt and withstand their effects.

According to the ranking, Hyderabad ranked second least resilient, Multan third, Lahore fifth, Faisalabad seventh and Karachi eighth. Ahmedabad in India topped the list of cities deemed least resilient, followed by Hyderabad and Multan.

The findings highlight what AlphaGeo describes as a “dangerous gap” in some cities between their exposure to climate threats and their capacity to cope with them.

“Resilience equals risk minus adaptation,” said Parag Khanna, AlphaGeo’s founder and chief executive was quoted as saying by The New York Times. “Everyone talks about resilience, but no one measures it.”

The company assessed cities against a range of climate risks, including inland and coastal flooding, extreme heat, drought, wildfires and hurricane winds. It then considered how effectively cities are adapting to those threats through measures such as early-warning systems, governance and policy responses, flood barriers and high-capacity drainage infrastructure.

The assessment found that South Asian cities dominated the bottom of the ranking, reflecting the region’s high exposure to flooding and monsoon-related hazards alongside comparatively weaker adaptation measures.

Pakistan’s cities were particularly prominent in the bottom 10. Hyderabad, Multan, Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi were joined by Ahmedabad and Kolkata in India, Dhaka and Chittagong in Bangladesh, and Taipei in Taiwan.

At the other end of the scale, Chicago was ranked the world’s most resilient major city, followed by Addis Ababa, Melbourne, Barcelona, Ankara, Buenos Aires, Paris, Istanbul, Bogotá and Nairobi.

Chicago’s position was attributed in part to its temperate climate, access to freshwater and relatively low hurricane risk, as well as long-term investment in infrastructure. Its Deep Tunnel Project, for example, was developed to help manage flooding and water pollution.

The report underscores the distinction between climate exposure and climate resilience. A city may face substantial physical risks, but effective infrastructure and preparedness can significantly reduce the consequences.

AlphaGeo noted that extreme weather can also trigger secondary failures. For instance, extreme heat or cold can place electricity generation and distribution systems under severe stress, while investment in a robust grid can help limit the impact of resulting power disruptions.

The findings come against a backdrop of increasingly severe climate-related disasters across South Asia. Recent floods and mudslides in Nepal and Tibet illustrate the potentially devastating consequences when extreme weather collides with vulnerable settlements and limited adaptation capacity.

“Accelerating climate change inevitably means far more release of water upstream,” Khanna said. “In that region, towns are naturally built in the traversable valleys, but those are also the lowest point — and water naturally flows downward along the path of least resistance. We are literally an insignificant obstacle to nature.”