Giving Compass' Take:

• Imran Mukhtar explains how climate change damaged Pakistan's cotton industry, creating larger economic consequences for the country. 

• How can nations and communities prepare for the agricultural and economic consequences of inevitable climate change? 

• Read about one community's climate adaption action plan


Another season of erratic weather has crippled Pakistan's already ailing cotton sector, resulting in lost revenue and jobs that could cost the economy more than $3 billion by the end of the fiscal year in June 2020, industry experts have warned.

Heavy rains and high temperatures during the whole of the cotton-growing season from April to September severely damaged the crop, said Khalid Abdullah, cotton commissioner and vice president of the Pakistan Central Cotton Committee.

Together, the heavy rains and dry spells destroyed over a third of the country's expected cotton harvest, according to the state-run Central Cotton Research Institute (CCRI) in Multan, southern Punjab.

Yet again, Pakistan's cotton farmers have seen their cash crop devastated by unpredictable climate extremes, said Abdullah.

Last year the culprit was unusual heat which parched crops and dried up rivers in the two regions.

Cotton is a major driver of the economy, contributing almost 1% of GDP, according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics.

But this fiscal year, cotton farmers will fall drastically short of the government's target of 15 million bales.

By June, the country will have to bring in at least 6 million bales - almost double what it imported last financial year, said Shahid Sattar, executive director of the All Pakistan Textile Mills Association (APTMA).

"Failure of the cotton crop translates into damage to the country's economy," Sattar said.

Pakistan's Economic Survey 2018-2019, published in June this year, said climate change poses "a serious challenge" to agriculture.

For the past decade or so, Pakistan's cotton industry has been struggling to adapt. Production fell by more than a quarter from 2011 to 2019, according to the CCRI.

This year, Pakistan's ranking among cotton-producing nations dropped from fourth to fifth behind Brazil, the United States, China and India, showed data from the Washington-based International Cotton Advisory Committee.

Employment will also take a hit, Sattar warned.

About 2% of the estimated 25 million people whose livelihoods are linked with cotton and the textile sector are at risk of losing their jobs this fiscal year, he said.

Read the full article about Pakistan's economy by Imran Mukhtar at Eco-Business.