Chasing Cooler Lands: How Rising Heat Is Threatening Pakistan’s Nomadic communities
By: Khaliq Khan
As dawn breaks over the dry hills in Loralai (Balochistan), Shano Bibi begins packing the few belongings her family will carry for the journey ahead. Blankets are tied onto a camel cart, cooking utensils and tents wrapped in cloth, and sheep and goats slowly gather into a moving herd guarded by some dogs.
Every year, Shano Bibi and her relatives travel hundreds of kilometers with their livestock, migrating from the cooler highlands of northern Balochistan toward the plains of southern Punjab
The seasonal movement along routes connecting districts like Loralai and Zhob to Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur has sustained nomadic pastoral communities for generations.
But in recent years, the journey has become increasingly dangerous as extreme heat tightens its grip across Pakistan.
“Before, the weather followed a pattern,” Shano Bibi says, adjusting her headscarf as the early sun grows harsh. “Now the heat comes earlier and stays longer.Sometimes even the animals can not walk.”
Extreme heat is rapidly emerging as one of the most serious climate related health threats worldwide. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), heatwaves already cause tens of thousands of deaths each year and are becoming more frequent and intense as global temperatures rise.
Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to this shift. Data from the Pakistan Meteorological Department shows that average temperatures in many regions have steadily increased over recent decades, with southern parts of the country experiencing longer and more severe heatwaves.
For nomadic communities constantly exposed to the elements, the health risks are immediate and severe.
During migration, families spend long days travelling through open terrain where shade is scarce and drinking water is limited. Women often walk alongside the animals while also caring for children and preparing meals along the way.
“Women bear the heaviest burden,” explains a climate and health researcher at Aga Khan University. “Extended exposure to extreme heat increases risks of dehydration, heat exhaustion, and complications for pregnant women, particularly in communities without access to healthcare.”
Shano Bibi knows these dangers well. During last summer’s journey, one of her younger children fell sick after walking for hours under temperatures that climbed above 40°C.
“There was no doctor nearby,” she recalls. “We had to stop the journey for two days until the child recovered.”
Research from the The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change warns that rising temperatures are already reducing labour capacity and increasing health risks in vulnerable communities around the world.
For pastoral families, the impacts extend beyond human health. Livestock their primary source of income and food are also struggling.
Higher temperatures reduce the quality of grazing land and increase stress on animals. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, climate change is expected to significantly disrupt pastoral systems through worsening droughts, heat stress, and declining pasture productivity.
Standing beside her herd, Shano Bibi watches a group of goats search for grass among patches of dry earth.
“These animals are our life,” she says. “If they die, we have nothing.”
Across Balochistan, drought and heat have already forced many pastoral families to reconsider their traditional migration routes. Climate scientists warn that such pressures are likely to intensify. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has identified South Asia as a region where extreme heat events are expected to become more frequent and more severe in the coming decades.
Despite these challenges, families like Shano Bibi’s continue their seasonal journeys, guided by knowledge passed down through generations.
By late afternoon, the sun hangs heavily over the dusty track as her family prepares to move again toward Punjab’s grazing lands.
Shano Bibi gathers her children and urges the animals forward. The road ahead remains long, and the heat is relentless.
“Moving with the seasons is how our parents survived,” she says quietly. “But now the seasons themselves are changing.”
