Pakistan’s livestock sector is increasingly coming under pressure from the growing impacts of climate change, with rising temperatures, erratic weather patterns and shrinking grazing lands threatening animal health, productivity and the livelihoods of farming communities across the country.
From the plains of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to the high-altitude pastures of Upper Chitral, changing climatic conditions are reducing livestock production, increasing disease outbreaks and placing rare indigenous species, including the yak, at risk.
One of the clearest examples of these impacts can be seen in Broghil Valley in Upper Chitral, home to Pakistan’s rare yak population. According to officials of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Livestock Department, the number of yaks in the valley has declined sharply over the past 15 years. Once estimated at around 5,000 animals, the population has now fallen to 1,923, primarily due to shrinking pastures, reduced fodder availability and changing weather patterns.
Speaking to The Express Tribune, Dr. Safeer Khan, Project Director of the Yak Conservation Project, said climate change is adversely affecting livestock, wildlife and bird species across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said the provincial government has approved a Rs300 million Yak Conservation Project, under which a Yak Conservation and Breeding Centre will be established in Broghil. The project’s survey has already been completed.
Dr. Khan noted that yak milk contains a higher fat content than cow or buffalo milk, while yak meat is rich in protein. Yaks, which thrive at elevations above 6,000 feet, are also an important source of income for mountain communities.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), climate change affects livestock through rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, erratic rainfall and floods, leading to heat stress, the spread of animal diseases, shortages of water and fodder, and reduced milk and meat production.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has also warned that if global temperatures rise by 2°C, livestock production could decline significantly by 2050, resulting in billions of dollars in economic losses worldwide.
Data from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) Agricultural Census 2024 shows that Pakistan has approximately 251.3 million livestock, with Punjab accounting for more than 104 million animals, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with around 48.7 million.
Farmers from Charsadda, Dera Ismail Khan, Nowshera and Peshawar say rising temperatures have already reduced milk production, making livestock farming increasingly unprofitable.
Arshad Khan, who invested nearly Rs250 million in a dairy farm in Tarnab, Peshawar, said he was forced to shut down the business within two years due to soaring fodder costs, heat-related illnesses among buffaloes and declining milk yields.
Experts warn that without climate-resilient livestock policies, improved breeding programmes, sustainable grazing management and better adaptation measures, Pakistan’s livestock sector and the rural communities that depend on it will face growing economic and environmental challenges in the years ahead.
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