Muhammad Suleman BachaSupervised By: Dr Mohammad Nafees2026-07-282026-07-282012http://repository.uop.edu.pk/123456789/490Like any other developing country, Pakistan is confronting the problem of climate change. The unprecedented flooding of 2010 and other subsequent events directs to the fact that this region is most vulnerable to climatic hazards. Despite the fact and importance, the public concerns and understandings of the issue in the region is not studied yet. This research is based on a case study carried out in District Swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The main objectives covering the study were i) to get insight of the public perceptions of climate change and adaptation in the study area and ii) to assess the various impacts of climate change on livelihood sources of indigenous communities. An attempt was made to utilize mixed methods approach to get an in-depth investigation of the underlying factors and determinants influencing the public understanding about climate change. Using stratified sampling technique, 25 union councils (wards) were selected from the nine tehsils (sub-districts) of the study area. Information was collected from 1066 households using structured questionnaire. The information was analyzed using SPSS (version 20) and the association between the climate change knowledge and demographic variables were explored using chi-square tests and Cramer’s V statistics. The study revealed that majority (88.5%) of the respondents were aware of the climate change in the area. Deforestation (37.2%), natural causes (29.7%) and combustion of fossil fuels (14.7%) were the main reported causes of climate change. Natural hazards such as floods (16.8%), dry spells (16.2%), vector borne diseases (10.8%), changes in biodiversity (10.5%), lower agricultural productivity 10.1%) and heat waves (9.9%) were among the major perceived impacts of climate change. A Significant relationship (p < .05) was found between the demographic variables and climate knowledge in the study areaenThesis