Climate change-induced shifts in weather patterns are making conditions increasingly dangerous for mountaineers attempting to scale Pakistan’s Karakoram peaks, with no climber managing to summit K2 or Gasherbrum-I during this summer’s climbing season.

Persistent storms, heavy snowfall, unstable snow conditions and heightened avalanche risks disrupted expeditions across Gilgit-Baltistan, particularly on five of the region’s 14 peaks above 8,000 metres.

More than 200 climbers attempted to summit K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-II and Gasherbrum-I this year, but prolonged periods of bad weather forced repeated summit attempts to be abandoned.

According to tour operator Ghulam Muhammad, only three foreign expedition groups successfully reached the summit of Gasherbrum-II, while members of one local expedition team summited Broad Peak. Earlier in the season, two expedition teams successfully climbed Nanga Parbat.

Mountaineers have faced persistent storms, avalanches, rockfalls, strong winds and increasingly unpredictable weather across the Karakoram for the past two years. The climbing season for K2, Broad Peak, Gasherbrum-I and Gasherbrum-II typically runs from late July to mid-August.

General Secretary of the Alpine Club of Pakistan, Ayaz Shigri, said unstable weather persisted throughout the season. Following the deadly Broad Peak avalanche on July 30, which claimed the lives of 10 foreign climbers and Pakistani mountaineer Sohail Sakhi, several teams at K2 and Gasherbrum-I abandoned their summit attempts to assist with search and rescue operations.

Tour operator Asghar Porik said changing weather patterns have made it increasingly difficult for climbers to identify safe weather windows for summit attempts. He added that rising temperatures are contributing to unstable snow conditions, increasing the risk of avalanches and rockfalls.

Porik said his 11-member expedition team at Gasherbrum-II was unable to find a suitable weather window and eventually called off its expedition.

Ikram Baig, President of the GB Association of Tour Operators, said even comparatively less technical peaks such as Broad Peak can become highly dangerous after fresh snowfall due to unstable snow and elevated avalanche risks.

Experts and local tour operators say climate change is making conditions across the Karakoram’s high-altitude peaks increasingly unpredictable. They also warn that the growing number of commercial expeditions is placing additional pressure on the fragile mountain environment.

With the summer climbing season now concluded, mountaineers have returned from the region’s eight-thousanders without summiting K2 or Gasherbrum-I. Similar weather-related disruptions were reported during last year’s climbing season.

Beyond mountaineering, climate change is also threatening Pakistan’s glacier systems. The country is home to more than 13,000 glaciers that feed the Indus River system and support agriculture, hydropower generation and drinking-water supplies for millions of people.

Changing glacier behaviour is also increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods, particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, exposing mountain communities to sudden flooding, landslides and other climate-related hazards.

Glacial meltwater remains essential for sustaining downstream communities, irrigating farmland across the Indus Basin and meeting water demand in both rural and urban areas.