When the Capital Breathes: Deforestation, Climate, and Pakistan’s One Health Crisis

 When the Capital Breathes: Deforestation, Climate, and Pakistan’s One Health Crisis

Author: Dr. Beenish Altaf

Emerging Public Health Specialist, Field Epidemiologist

When a city loses its trees, it begins to lose its ability to breathe and to protect the people who call it home. In Islamabad, deforestation is not merely a landscape change; it is a silent accelerator of climate change. Fewer trees mean higher temperatures, more violent stormwater runoff, and deeper vulnerability to extreme weather events that are becoming more frequent and fiercer.

Last summer 2025 proved this with painful clarity: a rare hailstorm struck the capital during peak heat, a jarring signature of a destabilized climate. Weeks later, an intense cloudburst unleashed over 240 millimetres of rain on Islamabad within 18 hours. The city’s drainage systems, already strained and stripped of natural absorption from lost tree cover, could not cope. Urban flooding submerged underpasses, swept away vehicles, and affected over 6.5 million people across the region, with thousands of Islamabad’s own residents displaced, injured, or left without clean water and shelter.

These are not isolated tragedies. They are the lived experience of a capital where deforestation has deepened the urban heat island effect, reduced rainwater interception, and weakened slope stability. When trees fall, the climate crisis accelerates, and with it, suffering follows for humans, animals, and birds alike, as their shared habitat unravels.

Yet even as these lessons emerged, approximately 30,000 trees in Islamabad were felled. Officially described as a measure to remove invasive paper mulberry blamed for pollen allergies, the reality was far more damaging: not only the paper mulberry but also many old, deep-rooted native trees were uprooted. These ancient trees with roots that held the soil together, canopies that cooled entire neighborhoods, and trunks that stored carbon for decades are irreplaceable. Their loss goes far beyond seasonal allergies. It is a direct blow to the capital’s ecological memory and climate resilience.

Mature, deep-rooted trees are the city’s silent guardians. The slow rainfall allows the ground to absorb water rather than sending it rushing into overwhelmed drains. Their roots hold hillsides together and replenish groundwater. They cool the air during 45°C days, which can mean the difference between heatstroke and safety for the elderly, children, and outdoor workers. When we remove these trees, especially the old and deep-rooted ones, we remove the capital’s natural shield against hailstorms, cloudbursts, and heatwaves.

The emotional weight of these changes is heavy. The International Medical Corps reported that after the July cloudburst, psychosocial support became a lifeline for displaced families. Diarrhea, skin infections, and mosquito-borne diseases surged. Survivors, especially those who lost their livelihoods, faced trauma with little access to counselling. Deforestation intensifies these burdens. A city without its old trees is a city without calm, without shade, without the quiet resilience that green spaces offer to weary minds.

The 2025 hailstorm, cloudburst, and tree felling must serve as more than a memory. For Islamabad, healing means restoring urban tree cover with native, deep-rooted species, protecting drainage corridors from encroachment, mandating green infrastructure, establishing early warning systems for extreme weather, and creating accessible mental health pathways for climate-affected communities. These are not separate environmental and health agendas. They are the compassionate, integrated blueprint for a sustainable Islamabad, a capital that can truly breathe.

The trees that fell last summer are gone. But new roots can be laid. The hailstorm and cloudburst have passed. But the question remains: will we learn from what they revealed before this summer’s heatwave or cloudburst? One Health is not a slogan. It is the understanding that human, animal, and environmental health are one. We cannot achieve it by destroying the ecosystems that sustain all life. It is science, and it is empathy. Before the next hailstorm or chainsaw, let the capital breathe again. Our policies, budgets, and everyday choices must reflect that truth before the next heatwave scorches, the next cloudburst descends, or the next chainsaw cuts through our shared defences.

Way Forward:

The trees that were cut last summer cannot be brought back, but their ecological role can be restored, and the lessons of 2025 must guide every step now that this summer has already arrived.

Sensitization of the community: Residents, signatories, students, and business owners must be made aware of the deep connection between trees, climate, and health. Public awareness campaigns can help every citizen understand that protecting a tree means protecting their own family from heat, floods, and disease.

Prioritize deep-rooted native species: Replace lost trees with Ficus benghalensis (banyan), Melia azedarach (white cedar), Dalbergia sissoo (sheesham), and other indigenous varieties that develop deep root systems, stabilize slopes, and recharge groundwater.

No more blind removals: Any future tree removal must be based on a joint assessment by ecologists, hydrologists, and public health experts. Invasive species can be managed through selective thinning rather than mass clear-cutting, which also destroys native trees.

Protect existing mature trees: Create a digital inventory of Islamabad’s old, deep-rooted trees with legal protection. Each tree over 30 years old should be mapped and guarded.

Integrate green infrastructure: Mandate tree corridors, rain gardens, and permeable pavements in all new urban developments. Link reforestation to stormwater management plans.

Community-led care: Establish neighborhood “tree guardian” programmes where residents, students, and local businesses adopt and water young saplings. Provide mental health support alongside green spaces, nature heals when we heal it.

Preventive Measures for the Community: Heat and Monsoon Alerts

As summer heat and monsoon risks rise, every resident of Islamabad can take simple, life-saving steps:

Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day, even if not thirsty. Avoid sugary or caffeinated drinks.

Recognize heat stress: Watch for dizziness, headache, excessive sweating, or nausea. Move to shade or a cool place immediately.

Heat alerts: Follow official heatwave warnings. Stay indoors during peak sun hours (11 am to 4 pm). Wear light, loose cotton clothing.

Monsoon alerts: Listen for cloudburst or heavy rain warnings. Avoid stepping into flooded underpasses or nullahs; just six inches of moving water can sweep a person away.

Safe drinking water: After floods, boil or treat water to prevent diarrhea and skin infections.

Look out for each other: Check on elderly neighbours, children, and outdoor workers. Share alerts with family and friends.

Protect animals and birds: Keep water bowls in shaded areas for stray animals and birds. Do not leave pets or livestock in unventilated spaces during heatwaves.

References

1. Pakistan Meteorological Department. (2025). Summer 2025 Extreme Weather Summary: Hailstorm and Cloudburst Events in Islamabad. Islamabad: PMD.
2. International Medical Corps. (2025). Rapid Mental Health and Psychosocial Support Assessment: Post-Flood Response in Islamabad and Surrounding Areas. IMC Reports.
3. Government of Pakistan. (2025). National Climate and Disaster Impact Report: Monsoon 2025. National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).
4. World Health Organization Pakistan. (2025). One Health and Urban Resilience: Deforestation, Disease Patterns, and Mental Health in Islamabad. WHO Country Office.
5. Ali, S., & Khan, M. (2025). Urban deforestation and microclimate change in Islamabad: A case study of the 30,000-tree felling. Journal of Environmental Health Pakistan, 12(3), 45–59.
6. KBM CARE. (2025). Post-Cloudburst Health and Displacement Survey, Islamabad. Karachi: KBM CARE Publications.
7. Capital Development Authority (CDA), Islamabad. (2025). Tree Removal Record and Species Inventory Summer 2025. CDA Environmental Wing.