Climate change in Gilgit-Baltistan is disrupting farming, travel and family routines as residents face increasingly unpredictable weather and shifting seasonal patterns.
The apricot blossoms, glacier-fed irrigation channels and ripening wheat once followed a relatively predictable agricultural calendar. That pattern has become less reliable as unusual snowfall and rainfall affect planting and harvest schedules.
In one episode, snowfall occurred in April after fruit trees had already blossomed, raising concerns about crop losses. Rainfall patterns also changed, while some harvests shifted by several weeks.
Residents now increasingly factor weather forecasts and road conditions into decisions about farming, journeys and family events, the account says.
A glacial lake outburst flood in Gulmit, Gilgit-Baltistan, caused one of the most serious disruptions described. The flood cut the Karakoram Highway, temporarily isolating nearby communities from the rest of Pakistan.
Read: Suparco Glacial Lakes Watch lists 130 Danger Sites
Electricity, mobile signals and internet services were also disrupted, according to the account. Trucks carrying food, fuel and medicines could not reach the valley until road access was restored.
Read: GLOF Alert Issued for GB, KP As Rains Approach
The residents may not always describe these changes as “climate change,” but they repeatedly point to altered seasons, unpredictable weather and growing uncertainty about the conditions that shape everyday life.
