Are Heatwaves a Legal Emergency? A Case for
Action in Pakistan

By Khadija Waqas

As heatwaves become increasingly frequent and deadly, a fundamental legal question arises: if floods and earthquakes are recognized as disasters because they threaten life and livelihoods, why should heatwaves- whose consequences are often equally devastating- be treated differently? As a nation of more than 241 million people and consistently ranked among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, this warning is an everyday reality for Pakistan.

Heatwaves, heavy downpours, flash floods, droughts, Pakistan is not unfamiliar with these calamities and the profound ramifications that they bring for the people and the economy in their wake. However, despite becoming increasingly lethal, heatwaves in Pakistan more as weather advisories rather than legal emergencies. Law does not define emergency as some abrupt event but by whether it threatens life, overwhelms public institutions or calls for decisive government intervention. By this criterion, the recurring heatwaves across Pakistan are practically disasters, although they have not been formally recognized as such under the law.

The lethal toll of extreme heat has escalated to a critical scale. Data from the World Health Organization indicates that nearly 489,000 lives are lost annually to heat-related causes, with Asia bearing 45% of this global mortality burden. Concurrently, the population subjected to severe thermal stress surged by approximately 125 million from 2000 to 2016, a testament to the intensifying frequency of these climatic events. Acknowledging this trajectory, the WHO characterizes heat stress as a primary driver of weather-induced fatalities, underscoring that heatwaves represent a profound natural hazard that frequently escapes the rigorous legal scrutiny applied to floods or earthquakes.

So, the question is not whether heatwaves in Pakistan are more recurrent or not, but it’s more about whether the disaster management framework has been able to keep up with it. Why is it legitimate to consider earthquakes and floods as national emergencies because they threaten life, but not heatwaves where they produce if not same but comparable consequences. Unlike many other hazards, mitigating the most severe impacts of heatwaves requires more than individual action. Effective protection depends on comprehensive legal and regulatory frameworks that mandate preparedness, protect vulnerable populations, regulate occupational safety, and ensure coordinated institutional responses.

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) states that heatwaves in Pakistan are becoming more frequent and more intense, particularly across Sindh, southern Punjab, and Balochistan where temperatures routinely exceed 45°C, or even 50°C during severe heatwave events. The growing convergence of rising temperatures, rapid urbanization, inadequate adaptive infrastructure, and increasingly frequent extreme heat events has heightened risks to public health, agriculture, water resources, and economy. It underscores the need to examine whether extreme heat warrants recognition as a legal emergency under the country’s disaster management framework, particularly in light of existing disaster management laws and the legal responses to past heatwave disasters.

Sectoral Impact Assessment

The impact of heatwaves in Pakistan extends across multiple sectors, however the most legally significant areas where this effect is most palpable are health, labour and education. The health sector is the most susceptible to the threat posed by heatwaves. The labour sector demonstrates occupational consequences of heat exposure, particularly for outdoor workers. The education sector highlights the effects of heatwaves on access to learning and child safety. These three sectors are the primary areas that directly threaten human life, economic security, thus creating immediate legal and governance obligations for the State.

A) Health Sector

Extreme heat places immense pressure on Pakistan’s already overstretched healthcare system by increasing both the number and severity of heat-related illnesses. During the periods of extreme temperature events, hospitals experience a sharp rise in patients suffering from heat exhaustion, heatstroke, dehydration, acute kidney injury, cardiovascular complications and respiratory distress. The elderly, children, outdoor workers, and individuals with pre-existing medical conditions are particularly vulnerable, often requiring emergency medical care and prolonged hospitalization. Overcrowded hospitals experience shortages of staff and medical supplies, while increased electricity demand raises the risk of power outages that can compromise critical care services.

These consequences do not just remain confined to the health sector, but permeate into constitutional governance as Article 9 of Pakistani Constitution clearly guarantees security of persons and their right to life. A security that Pakistani courts have upheld as people’s right to live with reasonable protection against preventable harm. And if the State possesses the knowledge of health consequences of heatwave emergency, yet fails or lacks to take protective measures, the issue is not just about administrative failure but more significantly about fulfilment of constitutional obligations.

The 2015 Karachi heatwave marked a turning point in Pakistan’s disaster management landscape, exposing significant deficiencies in the healthcare system’s capacity and preparedness to respond to extreme heat. More than 1,200 people died within a matter of days, while over 65,000 individuals sought treatment for heat-related illnesses, overwhelming emergency departments that faced acute shortages of beds, medical personnel, intravenous fluids, and cooling facilities. Rather than remaining an isolated tragedy, subsequent heatwaves, particularly the record-breaking temperatures experienced across Pakistan in 2024 and 2025, have demonstrated that extreme heat is an increasingly recurrent hazard. This reinforces concerns that the country’s legal and institutional framework has yet to fully recognize it as a disaster requiring a formal emergency response.

The recurrence of these conditions has only reinforced the urgency of this issue. During the 2024 heatwave, temperatures exceeded 52.2°C in parts of Sindh, while hospitals across Sindh and Punjab reported a surge in heatstroke and dehydration cases that strained emergency services.

In 2025, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued successive heatwave advisories warning that temperatures across much of the country would remain 4–7°C above seasonal averages, prompting emergency response measures and the expansion of heatstroke treatment facilities. These developments demonstrate that extreme heat has evolved into a recurring disaster requiring sustained emergency intervention.

These heatwave incidents should have prompted broader legal assessment of disaster management regime that should trigger legal consequences attached to disaster declarations under the National Disaster Management Act 2010, yet relevant institutions only focussed on administrative readiness. There was more focus on the operational aspect rather than legal, which created a great chasm between climate science and disaster law.

Although authorities have been directed to activate comprehensive emergency protocols, the mortality and morbidity that extreme heatwave brings with it not only makes us question the resilience of Pakistan’s healthcare system, but also makes this issue a public health emergency that requires both legal and institutional preparedness.

B) Labour Sector

Labour is yet another sector affected by heatwaves. There has been notable loss of productivity/yield in the sector that particularly depends on outdoor or physically demanding work such as agriculture, construction, manufacturing, transport, and sanitation.

Heatwaves do not affect all workers equally. In Pakistan, where 72.5% of the workforce is employed in the informal economy, outdoor and manual labourers—including construction workers, brick kiln workers, factory workers, agricultural labourers, sanitation workers, and delivery personnel—are among the most vulnerable because they spend prolonged periods exposed to extreme temperatures. Many of these sectors operate within the informal economy or under weakly enforced labour regulations, leaving workers without adequate legal protections such as mandatory rest breaks, access to drinking water and shade, or heat-related occupational safety standards. As a result, heatwaves have led to numerous cases of heat-related illnesses and fatalities among exposed workers, highlighting the urgent need for stronger occupational health and safety protections.As temperatures rise beyond safe working limits, workers are forced to reduce their pace, take frequent breaks, shorten working hours, or stop work altogether to avoid heat stress, resulting in significant economic losses.

As for the economic losses, heat stress is projected to cost Pakistan billions of dollars annually through reduced labour productivity and lower economic output. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), by 2030 Pakistan will lose over 5% of total working hours annually due to heat stress—equivalent to millions of full-time jobs. Whereas, in the bigger picture, South Asia is expected to account for the largest share of global productivity losses from heat, with agriculture and construction being the most affected sectors. A World Bank assessment also warns that this reduced labour capacity could seriously slow economic growth and deepen poverty in Pakistan if adaptation measures are not implemented.

Comparative Legal Precedent – 2022 Madrid Construction Worker Heatwave Fatality

In July 2022, during an extreme heatwave in Madrid where temperatures exceeded 40°C, a 60-year-old municipal sanitation worker collapsed from heatstroke while carrying out outdoor duties in the Puente de Vallecas district. He was admitted to hospital with a body temperature of 41.6°C but died the following day despite medical treatment. Reports indicated that he had exchanged his morning shift for an afternoon shift, requiring him to work during the hottest hours of the day. The incident sparked widespread public concern over the adequacy of workplace heat-safety measures and intensified calls for stronger legal protections for outdoor workers exposed to extreme heat.

Repercussions extend beyond economics; they also spill into the legal realm. According to occupational safety legislation, it is the duty of employers to provide working conditions. Continuing outdoor work without adequate protective measures raises important questions of employer liability and regulatory compliance. A formal declaration of heat emergency would provide legal grounds to help enforce temporary workplace protections rather than leaving such measures to administrative discretion.

C) Education Sector

Heatwaves are causing significant disruption to Pakistan’s education system. In 2024, the Punjab Government closed schools for a week due to extreme heat, disrupting the education of approximately 26 million children—around 52% of Pakistan’s school-age students. Beyond school closures, many children, particularly in rural areas, travel to school on foot or without access to safe, climate-resilient transport, exposing them to dangerous temperatures and increasing the risks to their health, attendance, and educational outcomes. The impact is particularly severe in rural communities where schools often lack reliable electricity, cooling facilities, and other basic infrastructure, leaving already vulnerable students disproportionately affected by extreme heat.

In 2025 the government forced early closures of Punjab schools, as authorities grappled with an intense heatwave. School timings were revised to mitigate the effects of rising temperatures. Moreover, according to Save the Children, the 2024 heatwave in Punjab forced around 26 million school-age children to stay out of classrooms for a week, highlighting how climate extremes can directly interrupt access to education.

In 2024, the Punjab government also announced closure of all schools due to an intense heatwave, with authorities citing risks to students’ health. During the same 2024 heatwave, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa education department reduced school timings to protect students from extreme temperatures. Moreover, prolonged electricity outages were reported making classroom conditions worse.

Closure of schools is proof of the government already treating heatwaves as a disaster that requires administrative action. Yet, there is no uniform legal framework across provinces, so the administrative decisions are largely ad hoc. Legislation would allow responses to go from deficient to legal obligations that are primarily focused on student protection.

Floods and earthquakes became legal disasters because they repeatedly exposed the dearth of our administrative powers to overcome them. This is the moment of truth with heatwaves also, which requires legal recognition, as it is no longer an exceptional event, rather a very predictable one.

Law for Climate Resilience

Existing disaster management laws in Pakistan have traditionally focused on sudden-emergence disasters such as floods and earthquakes. Heatwaves, despite causing widespread mortality, overwhelming healthcare systems, and reducing labour productivity, remain unrecognized within the legal framework.

Comparative Legal Development – India – NGT's Own-motion Intervention on Heatwaves

Although heatwaves were consistently excluded from the list of disasters under India’s framework, The National Green Tribunal (NGT)- a special court handling environmental cases- took Suo motu notice of heatwaves in 2026, describing them as unrecognized disasters that require proper governance and judicial handling.

The National Disaster Management Act, 2010 adopts a broad conception of disaster. It refers to disaster as something that exceeds the public’s capacity to cope with it. This Act does not limit the definition of disaster to earthquakes, floods or cyclones. Although heatwaves are not expressly mentioned, their absence does not amount to a regulatory omission.

Comparative Legal Precedent – Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (ECtHR, 2024)

The 2024 judgment in Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland is the strongest precedent in the European Court of Human Rights for linking climate disasters to human rights.

The applicants were a group of older women who argued that increasing heatwaves posed a serious threat to their health and lives. The Court held that climate change creates real risks to life and health and that states have obligations under the right to private and family life (Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights) to adopt effective climate policies. Although there was no formal heatwave emergency declaration by the court,but it recognized that extreme heat can engage fundamental human rights and impose legal duties on governments.

Legal departments, whether they come within the ambit of government, legislature or regulatory body, can play a critical role in addressing heatwave catastrophe if they respond with proactive legal preparedness rather than reactive emergency relief. Heatwaves are not just meteorological events, they should be legally recognized as legitimate climate risks that require regulation, accountability and institutional coordination.

Recognizing heatwaves as a form of disaster when they meet the thresholds established by the Pakistan Meteorological Department in legislation and regulatory frameworks would enable Pakistan to move from ad hoc responses to a rights-based, preventive system of climate governance that protects lives and promotes economic stability.

Proposed Threshold-Based Heatwave Model with Legal Ramifications

Apart from recognition, legal intervention is required to uphold transparent standards rather than just resting on political discretion. Mere declaration of heatwave as a disaster will not suffice. The main challenge is to identify when heatwave reaches a level that legally justifies extraordinary governmental powers.

In this model, heatwaves are legally recognized as a disaster when they meet a combination of scientifically validated thresholds. These thresholds are assessed using three core indicators: temperature intensity, population exposure, and health burden. Instead of relying on temperature threshold only, this model recognizes that the imminence of emergencies depends on the interaction between weather conditions, the extent of human exposure, and the capacity of the health sector to manage the risk.

According to the proposed model, heatwaves would qualify for disaster notification if a minimum number of thresholds are crossed.

Temperature Threshold
If the temperature in any area exceeds beyond a certain point that is considered peak in the area based on historical climate patterns, acclimatization levels, and projected climate risks.

Exposure Threshold
Extreme heat persists continuously beyond the danger threshold, as prolonged heat exposure could cause increased physiological stress, specifically to outdoor workers, elderly people and children, and people with limited adaptive capacity.
Healthcare Load Threshold
Heat-related illnesses, emergency visits, hospital admissions, mortality rates, or other public health indicators exceed warning levels.

A disaster declaration could occur when, for example, two thresholds are exceeded, with a critical risk declaration when the temperature, health burden, and exposure, all three thresholds are simultaneously crossed.The thresholds should be adjusted according to regional climate conditions while maintaining scientifically validated minimum standards.

Legal Implications

Formal recognition of heatwaves into legally enforceable emergencies would be fundamentally transformative as governmental departments would not just act but immediately assume statutory duties capable of judicial scrutiny where unreasonable inaction places lives at risk. Therefore, disaster declaration would help with governmental accountability too.

Legal consequences should follow through with a formal disaster notification mechanism once a heatwave meets the disaster criteria, activating the following measures:

Activation of Government Emergency Management Authorities:
The government would have legal authority to implement emergency measures like cooling centres, evacuation, medical assistance and public safety restrictions.
Mandatory Employer Obligations:
Labor regulations would require employers to implement heat protection measures that include modified working hours, rest periods, and holdup of high-risk outdoor activities.
Public Health Authority:
Health agencies would issue directives for heat-risk mitigation, like emergency communication protocols or protection measures for high-risk populations.

Accountability:
Failure to respond appropriately could result in administrative review, judicial oversight, or liability under applicable public safety laws.

Resource Allocation and Financial Assistance:
Disaster management authorities could permit access to emergency funds, insurance mechanisms, relief programs, and recovery assistance.

Climate Adaptation and Planning:
As a recurring risk, Governments would incorporate heatwave into urban and infrastructure planning, public health strategies, and climate adaptation policies.

This model would help legally recognize heatwaves as a critical hazard, not just a temporary weather event, thus creating a transparent, efficient and evidence-based framework for disaster declaration that enables timely and effective safety of affected people.
Disaster laws exist to protect citizens when regular governance fails to preserve life and public order. Since every summer brings record temperatures and substantial consequences for different sectors, the law needs to bridge the gap between scientific warnings and statutory obligations.

Only recognizing heatwaves as legal emergencies is not enough, rather it requires the law to respond to climate realities. In a time where extreme heat is becoming one of Pakistan’s deadliest hazards, the burning question is no longer whether heatwaves constitute an emergency, but why they haven’t been legally recognized as such.