Climate shocks and data gaps deepen Pakistan’s food security crisis

Pakistan remains locked among the world’s most severely food-insecure nations, driven by a volatile mix of economic instability and intensifying climate disasters. According to the 2026 Global Report on Food Crises published by Dawn, Pakistan now ranks among the top ten global hotspots for acute hunger, alongside nations such as Afghanistan, Sudan, and Yemen.

Data from the past year reveals that nearly 11 million Pakistanis suffered from acute food insecurity. The vast majority—some 9.3 million people—experienced “crisis” level conditions, while 1.7 million individuals were pushed into “emergency” status, a critical designation sitting just one tier below outright famine.

A primary driver of this escalating emergency has been the series of devastating monsoon rains and flash floods. The catastrophic weather events impacted more than six million people, decimating vital agricultural yields and destroying infrastructure across the country’s most vulnerable territories.