Pakistan's 2025 Monsoon: 1,006 Deaths, 3 Million Evacuated and a Power Network Under Repair

Pakistan's 2025 monsoon has been the deadliest since the floods of 2022. In its update of 21 September, the National Disaster Management Authority reported that rains and floods had claimed 1,006 lives across the country since 26 June, and that more than 3.02 million people had been rescued or evacuated in relief operations, according to Pakistan Today's account of the update. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa recorded the highest death toll, with 504 fatalities, many of them in sudden flash floods in mountain districts such as Buner in mid-August.

Punjab reported 304 deaths, Sindh 80, Gilgit-Baltistan 41, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 38, Balochistan 30 and Islamabad Capital Territory nine. The NDMA reported 12,569 homes damaged, of which 4,128 were destroyed and 8,441 partly damaged, and 6,509 livestock lost. Power infrastructure was also hit, with distribution networks in flood-affected districts restoring supply in stages as waters receded. Pakistan's two largest reservoirs, Tarbela on the Indus and Mangla on the Jhelum, play a dual role during the monsoon.

The 2025 floods are smaller in scale than the 2022 disaster, when floods covered large parts of Sindh and Balochistan for months. The repeated disasters have kept climate resilience at the centre of Pakistan's economic policy. The floods will put pressure on Pakistan's budget for fiscal year 2026, through relief spending, reconstruction and lost revenue. The surge in rooftop solar installations in Pakistan over the past two years has changed how households and businesses experience grid outages.

Pakistan has been a prominent advocate in international negotiations on loss and damage, which led to the creation of a dedicated fund at COP27 in 2022, under Pakistan's chairmanship of the G77 negotiating group. Key developments include the government's damage and needs assessment for the 2025 floods, the IMF's next programme review and its treatment of flood-related spending, and the restoration of power supply in the worst-affected districts.