London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Royals urge climate change action on glacier visit

The Duke of Cambridge calls for more education and awareness during a visit to northern Pakistan.

The trip to a remote mountain location in the north of the country came on the third day of the royal tour.

The duke and duchess were shown how the Chiatibo Glacier had retreated rapidly in recent years due to global warming.

Prince William said communities "vulnerable to change" needed more awareness of climate change.

The duke said young people were "starting to get engaged", adding that a "positive conversation" around the issue was needed.

The couple arrived by helicopter to the Hindu Kush mountain range in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

On a visit to a flood-hit area in the Chitral region, they spoke with a young woman who was named after the duke's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales - and has a son of her own called William.

Princess Diana was visiting the area around the time she was born in 1991, a translator later explained. The woman is now part of an emergency response team of volunteers funded by UK aid.

On their arrival Catherine was presented with a traditional Chitrali hat - almost identical to one William's mother received on her visit 28 years ago.

The duke was also presented with a book commemorating his mother's trip to the area.

Global warming has seen the Chiatibo Glacier in Broghil National Park retreat by some 10 metres a year due to higher temperatures melting the ice.

The first threat from the glacier melting is flooding to communities down stream, while the second is removing the water supply completely - which provides for 200 million people in Pakistan.

Glacier expert Dr Furrukh Bashir said he hoped the duke and duchess' visit would raise awareness of the issue.

Following their trip to the glacier, the couple remained in the region to meet with communities affected by global warming.

The couple visited Bumburet, which was destroyed by flooding in 2015.

They also watched an emergency response drill, which included demonstrations of how members of the community carry casualties over a river.

They later visited a settlement of the Kalash people, a non-Muslim minority population, where they watched a traditional dance.

In a speech on Tuesday evening, William urged the UK and Pakistan to "work together" amid an "impending global catastrophe" over climate change.

The duke and duchess also met schoolchildren and had lunch with Pakistan's prime minister and former cricket star Imran Khan, as part of their tour of the country.

The five-day trip was organised at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×