Islamabad: Pakistan’s per-person water availability has collapsed from 3,500 cubic meters in the 1970s to just around 1,100 cubic meters today, an amount experts say is barely enough to meet basic daily needs and equal to only a few household water tanks spread across an entire year.
The alarming drop, revealed in the Asian Water Development Outlook 2025 released by the Asian Development Bank, shows the country sliding into a water-driven health and economic emergency accelerated by climate change.
The report warns that more than 80 percent of Pakistanis still do not have access to safe drinking water, exposing millions to waterborne diseases. Untreated wastewater, contaminated groundwater and collapsing rural water systems are driving a surge in diarrheal infections, typhoid, hepatitis and other illnesses linked directly to unsafe water.
ADB links this crisis to climate extremes, noting that erratic monsoons, record heat, melting glaciers and the 2022 floods that affected over 24 million people are intensifying pressure on Pakistan’s already stressed water supply. Urban flooding, triggered by poorly maintained drainage and unplanned expansion, is repeatedly disrupting health services in major cities.
Economically, the report paints an equally troubling picture. Pakistan needs 35 to 42 billion dollars over the next decade to fix its water governance and infrastructure, yet current spending is barely a fraction of the requirement. ADB notes that without major investment, Pakistan’s irrigation system, urban water networks and groundwater supplies will continue to deteriorate, threatening agriculture, industry and household consumption.
Industrial reliance on groundwater, much of it contaminated with arsenic and rapidly depleting is described as “unsustainable,” while agriculture continues to consume most of the country’s shrinking water resources through inefficient flood irrigation. Urban demand, meanwhile, is growing by 10 percent each year, but cities remain overwhelmed by untreated sewage, leakage losses and low tariff recovery.
ADB cautions that Pakistan’s water crisis is no longer just an environmental or governance failure; it is becoming a public health and economic threat. Rural households still face widespread microbiological contamination, weak surveillance and dysfunctional water supply models. In cities, untreated wastewater and aging systems are putting millions of people at risk of infections that accelerate during extreme heat and flooding.
The report says Pakistan has made progress on paper including policies supporting integrated water management and improvements in hygiene practices but warns that these gains mean little without strong financing, modern infrastructure and a single national water authority with powers to enforce standards.
ADB recommends urgent reforms, including better coordination between institutions, stronger disaster preparedness, independent monitoring of water quality and major climate-resilient investments.
The bank concludes that unless Pakistan acts immediately, falling water availability, rising contamination and climate shocks will continue to fuel disease outbreaks, weaken food production and slow economic recovery turning water insecurity into one of the country’s largest long-term threats.
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