Pakistan named fifth most vulnerable to climate change in the world

• Pakistan lost 9,989 lives, suffered economic losses worth $3.8bn and witnessed 152 extreme weather events from 1998 to 2018.
• Out of top 10 countries on the long-term index, seven are developing countries.

With thousands of lives lost and monetary losses amounting to billions of dollars, Pakistan has been placed on the fifth spot on the list of countries most vulnerable to climate change in Global Climate Risk Index 2020.

As per the report released by the think-tank Germanwatch on Wednesday, Pakistan has been identified among the top 10 countries to be the most affected countries from climate change during the period 1999-2018. Puerto Rico, Myanmar and Haiti was the top three most affected countries, with Philippines placed in the fourth spot.

The report revealed that Pakistan lost 9,989 lives, suffered economic losses worth $3.8 billion and witnessed 152 extreme weather events from 1998 to 2018.  “Over the last few years… Countries like Haiti, the Philippines and Pakistan that are recurrently affected by catastrophes continuously rank among the most affected countries both in the long-term index and in the index for the respective year,” stated the report.

Out of top ten countries on the long-term index, seven are developing countries in the low income or lower-middle income category. Whereas, two are classified as upper-middle-income countries - Thailand and Dominica while only one country, Puerto Rico, is an advanced economy.