ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has called for stronger international commitments to address the rapid decline of the Himalayan Karakoram Hindukush (HKH) mountain ranges, warning that the consequences of accelerated glacier melt are being felt across the region.

In a video message to a side event on Cryosphere Adaptation and Disaster Risk Reduction at the UN climate conference (COP30) in Belem, Brazil, Climate Minister Dr Musadik Malik described the HKH region as the white rooftops of the world and a lifeline for millions in South Asia.

Pakistan, he noted, is home to around 13,000 glaciers that feed the Indus River system and underpin the nation’s food security, economy and ecosystems. Dr Malik said climate-driven glacier melt was proceeding at an unprecedented pace, leading to increasing hazards such as glacial lake outburst floods.

He also pointed to global inequities in climate finance, arguing that a handful of major emitters contributed most to global carbon pollution while also receiving the bulk of green financing. He urged countries with historic emissions responsibility to support adaptation efforts in vulnerable mountain regions and called for the cryosphere agenda to be elevated at COP30.

The session, organised by the climate ministry in partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Develop­ment (ICIMOD), also heard from officials representing Turkiye, Azerbaijan, Nepal, Bhutan and international bodies including Unesco, UNDP, and the Asian Development Bank.

Published in Dawn, November 17th, 2025