As Pakistan faces the harsh realities of climate change from flash floods and prolonged droughts to heat waves and glacial melt the need for smarter, faster and more accurate decision-making has never been greater. Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Musadik Malik’s remarks at the National Artificial Intelligence Workshop this week offer a timely and necessary reminder that technology, when used responsibly, can become a powerful ally in safeguarding Pakistan’s future.
At the heart of Dr Malik’s argument lies a fundamental problem that has long plagued policymaking in Pakistan: fragmented, incomplete and poorly integrated data. Whether it is disaster preparedness, agricultural planning, water management or urban development, weak data ecosystems have repeatedly limited the state’s ability to anticipate risks and act before crisis unfold. Artificial intelligence, with its capacity to analyse vast and complex datasets in real time, offers a pathway out of this cycle of reactive governance.
The reference to the Pakistan Vulnerability Report which identifies 20 districts as highly exposed to climate risks, including 18 in Balochistan and two in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa underlines the kind of evidence-based policymaking Pakistan urgently needs. Such mapping is not merely an academic exercise; it is a roadmap for smarter allocation of resources. AI-driven modelling can refine these assessments further, allowing governments to direct investments, disaster preparedness and development spending to the communities that need them most.
Perhaps the most immediate benefit of AI lies in disaster risk management. By integrating AI with satellite imagery, weather data and ground-level sensors, Pakistan could move from a system of late warnings and emergency responses to one of early detection and prevention. Floods, landslides and droughts are rarely sudden they build over time. AI systems can detect subtle patterns long before they become visible to human observers, allowing authorities to evacuate, reinforce infrastructure and protect livelihoods before irreversible damage occurs.
However, Dr Malik’s caution against overreliance on artificial intelligence is equally important. Technology must not replace human judgment, ethical reasoning or local knowledge. Algorithms reflect the data they are trained on and in countries like Pakistan, data gaps, biases and inaccuracies remain a serious challenge. Blind faith in automated systems could create new risks, particularly in sensitive areas such as disaster response, social protection and environmental regulation.
The minister’s warning about the next phase of AI, the rise of autonomous AI agents, also deserves close attention. While AI promises to enhance productivity, it will inevitably disrupt labour markets. Pakistan, with its young and rapidly growing workforce, must prepare now for this shift through reskilling, digital literacy and workforce adaptation. Climate resilience and economic resilience must go hand in hand. AI is not a silver bullet for Pakistan’s climate crisis. But as Dr Malik rightly noted, it can be a force multiplier strengthening institutions, improving foresight and making governance more responsive. The challenge lies in ensuring that innovation is not treated as a one-time fix, but as a continuous process embedded in policy, education and institutional reform.