Spatial Production of Environmental Inequality: Media Construction of Climate-Affected Regions in Pakistan

Spatial Production of Environmental Inequality: Media Construction of Climate-Affected Regions in Pakistan | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Spatial Production of Environmental Inequality: Media Construction of Climate-Affected Regions in Pakistan Awrang Khan This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9524235/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study examines how climate-affected regions in Pakistan are represented within national English-language newspaper discourse and whether climate communication reproduces uneven patterns of geographic visibility. Drawing on spatial theory, environmental justice, and media framing, the study conceptualizes spatial visibility as a communicative outcome shaped through journalistic selection, framing, and sourcing practices. A quantitative content analysis was conducted of 300 climate-related news articles published in Dawn and The News International between June 2022 and December 2023. The analysis examined regional visibility, episodic and structural framing, spatial role construction, and actor representation. Findings reveal a graded core–periphery pattern in which Punjab and Sindh receive greater visibility, while Balochistan and ex-FATA remain comparatively underrepresented despite their climate vulnerability. Coverage is predominantly episodic, with climate-affected regions often represented through disaster-centered narratives rather than sustained structural contexts. Actor analysis further shows the dominance of federal and institutional voices, while local communities remain less visible. Chi-square tests indicate statistically significant but modest associations between region and framing type, and between region and actor representation. The study argues that climate reporting in Pakistan is not spatially neutral; rather, it contributes to a patterned organization of environmental visibility across regions. By operationalizing geographic visibility as a measurable variable, the study contributes to climate communication, media geography, and environmental justice scholarship, with relevance to debates on climate action and representational equity. Climate change communication spatial visibility media geography environmental justice framing analysis Pakistan Introduction Climate change is widely recognized as one of the most pressing global challenges of the twenty-first century, yet its impacts are unevenly distributed across geographic space. From a material geography perspective, climate risks are structured through physical exposure, governance capacity, and socio-economic vulnerability, producing differentiated patterns of environmental harm across regions (IPCC, 2022 ; Adger, 2006 ). Extreme events such as floods, heatwaves, and droughts disproportionately affect already vulnerable areas, making climate change not only an environmental phenomenon but also a socio-spatial condition embedded in real-world geographic inequalities (Roberts & Parks, 2007 ; Pelling, 2010 ). Media systems operate at a related but analytically distinct level of spatial organization. Rather than directly mirroring material exposure, news institutions construct discursive geographies through processes of selection, emphasis, and omission (Entman, 1993 ; Boykoff, 2011 ). These representational practices generate “geographies of visibility,” in which certain regions are repeatedly foregrounded as sites of crisis while others remain comparatively underrepresented (Carvalho, 2007 ). Importantly, this study does not suggest that media produce physical space or material vulnerability; rather, it argues that they contribute to the spatial production of visibility through which environmental vulnerability becomes socially and politically legible. Despite extensive scholarship on climate framing, media discourse, and spatial imaginaries (Adams, 2011 ; Jansson & Falkheimer, 2006 ; Cottle, 2009 ), relatively few studies have operationalized geographic visibility as a measurable empirical category. This gap is particularly evident in Global South contexts, where material vulnerability and representational inequality intersect but are rarely examined through systematic spatial analysis. Consequently, the spatial organization of climate communication—specifically how attention is distributed across regions within national media systems—remains under-theorized and empirically under-tested. Pakistan provides a critical case for examining this issue. Ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, it has experienced repeated extreme weather events, including the catastrophic floods of 2022 and prolonged heatwaves (NDMA, 2022 ; World Bank, 2021 ). These impacts are unevenly distributed across space. Peripheral and historically marginalized regions such as Balochistan, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (ex-FATA) face heightened exposure due to infrastructural deficits, governance constraints, and socio-economic exclusion (Usman, 2025 ). However, whether this uneven material geography is reflected in proportional media attention remains an empirical question. This study addresses this gap by focusing on patterned representational differentiation in climate reporting. Here, spatial production is understood not as the material creation of physical territory, but as the communicative organization of visibility, framing, and narrative attention across geographic regions within media discourse. In this sense, space is analytically treated as a communicative outcome—structured through repeated journalistic practices rather than ontologically produced. Drawing on environmental justice theory, media visibility is conceptualized as a form of symbolic spatial recognition that is unevenly distributed (Schlosberg, 2007 ). Material vulnerability refers to exposure to environmental risk, whereas symbolic visibility refers to the degree to which regions are acknowledged within public discourse. These dimensions are analytically distinct but relational, as limited or episodic visibility may contribute to the marginalization of already vulnerable regions within national environmental imagination. Accordingly, this study examines how English-language newspapers in Pakistan represent climate-affected regions and whether such representations reproduce patterned spatial inequality. Focusing on Dawn and The News International during 2022–2023, it analyzes coverage of major climate events—including floods, heatwaves, and droughts—to assess geographic distribution, framing patterns, and actor representation. Specifically, the study investigates how climate-related news is geographically distributed across Pakistan’s regions, how different spatial contexts are framed within episodic and structural narratives, and how various geographic areas are positioned within institutional and non-institutional actor hierarchies. In doing so, it addresses three interrelated questions concerning the geographic distribution of coverage, the framing of regions within climate discourse, and the relationship between spatial representation and actor hierarchies in national media reporting. The central argument is that climate reporting in Pakistan is not spatially neutral. Instead, it contributes to a patterned production of environmental visibility, wherein certain regions are consistently foregrounded while others remain comparatively marginal. This does not imply a direct reproduction of material inequalities, but rather a mediated system of differentiated recognition that shapes how environmental vulnerability is publicly perceived and politically prioritized. By empirically examining the spatial production of climate reporting in a Global South context, this study contributes to three intersecting fields: climate communication, by foregrounding geographic visibility as an analytical variable; media geography, by operationalizing spatial representation as a measurable construct; and environmental justice scholarship, by distinguishing between material and symbolic dimensions of inequality. In doing so, it advances a spatially grounded account of how environmental vulnerability is mediated, structured, and differentially recognized within national media systems. Literature Review Research on climate change communication has progressively shifted from a narrow concern with scientific accuracy toward understanding environmental knowledge as socially constructed through media systems, institutional routines, and power relations (Carvalho, 2010 ; Schäfer, 2015 ). Because climate change is temporally diffuse and experientially abstract, most citizens encounter it primarily through mediated representation rather than direct perception (Moser, 2010 ; Newman et al., 2020 ). News media therefore function not merely as transmitters of scientific information but as central arenas in which environmental problems are made publicly intelligible and socially salient (Schmidt et al., 2013 ; Sampei & Aoyagi-Usui, 2009 ). Within this broader shift, three interconnected strands are central to the present study: (i) climate framing and media construction of environmental knowledge, (ii) environmental justice and recognition, and (iii) spatial theory and media geography. While each strand is theoretically well established, their empirical integration remains limited—particularly in explaining how spatial inequality is reproduced through patterned media visibility in Global South contexts. Climate change is globally pervasive but unevenly experienced. Although it constitutes a worldwide environmental crisis (Cottle, 2009 ; IPCC, 2014), its most severe impacts disproportionately affect less industrialized countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America (Althor et al., 2016 ; Bathiany et al., 2018 ; UNFCCC, 2007). At the same time, climate communication research and policy discourse remain disproportionately dominated by Global North institutions (Blicharska et al., 2017 ; Schäfer & Schlichting, 2014 ). Cross-national studies show persistent differences in issue attention and thematic framing between Global North and South media systems (Barkemeyer et al., 2017 ; Vu et al., 2019 ). However, while international asymmetries are increasingly documented, far less attention has been given to internal spatial hierarchies within national media systems. The gap addressed here is therefore not a general absence of scholarship, but a specific spatial–empirical integration gap: the disconnect between spatial theory, environmental justice, and the measurable distribution of geographic visibility in climate reporting. Climate Framing and the Media Construction of Environmental Knowledge A substantial body of research demonstrates that journalism plays a constitutive role in shaping environmental knowledge. Rather than neutrally transmitting scientific findings, environmental reporting is structured by professional norms, narrative conventions, and institutional constraints (Bell, 1994a , 1994b ; Dunwoody & Peters, 1992 ). Competing political and scientific actors strategically frame environmental issues to influence public discourse (Miller & Riechert, 2000 ). Climate change, in particular, becomes socially intelligible through narrative translation processes that prioritize familiarity, emotional resonance, and event-based storytelling (O’Neill & Boykoff, 2010 ; Ungar, 2000 ). Carvalho and Burgess ( 2005 ) further show that climate discourse is embedded within broader ideological and political-economic contexts. Framing research grounded in Entman’s ( 1993 ) conceptualization highlights how problem definition, causal attribution, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation structure interpretive meaning. Moreover, issue attention itself functions as an indicator of social problem construction (Schmidt et al., 2013 ). Climate change competes with other issues for limited communicative space, and fluctuations in coverage often correspond to focusing events such as extreme weather, policy summits, or IPCC reports (Birkland, 1998 ; Pralle, 2009 ; Schäfer et al., 2014). Such event-driven logic frequently produces episodic rather than sustained structural coverage (Bødker & Neverla, 2012 ). While this literature offers rich insight into interpretive processes, it gives comparatively less attention to how environmental visibility is geographically distributed across regions within national discourse. Journalistic Norms, Institutional Context, and Structural Bias A related strand of scholarship examines journalistic norms such as objectivity and balance. Although intended to ensure fairness, the norm of balance has been shown to produce epistemic distortion in climate reporting by amplifying marginal skepticism (Boykoff & Boykoff, 2004 ; Entman, 1993 ; Gelbspan, 1998 ). News production is also embedded within broader political and economic structures that shape issue salience and thematic emphasis (Reese, 2001 ; Shoemaker & Reese, 1991 ). In many Global South contexts, journalistic cultures are influenced by developmental priorities and resource constraints, which may affect both the quantity and framing of climate coverage (Kalyango et al., 2017 ; Nguyen & Tran, 2019 ; Nassanga et al., 2017 ). Scarcity of specialized science journalism resources further contributes to uneven coverage patterns (Schäfer & Painter, 2020 ). However, despite identifying institutional influences on environmental discourse, this literature focuses primarily on ideological and professional dynamics. It provides limited analytical tools for examining how journalistic routines contribute to patterned geographic differentiation in climate visibility. Environmental Justice, Inequality, and Recognition Environmental justice scholarship offers a normative framework for understanding inequality in environmental systems. It argues that environmental harm is structured through historical and political-economic inequalities rather than randomly distributed (Roberts & Parks, 2007 ; Schlosberg, 2007 ). At the global level, climate vulnerability disproportionately affects countries that have contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions (Althor et al., 2016 ; Bathiany et al., 2018 ). Schlosberg ( 2013 ) extends environmental justice theory beyond distributive concerns to include recognition and participation. Recognition implies that visibility itself functions as a form of political and symbolic power. Groups or regions that remain unseen within public discourse may experience a secondary form of injustice—symbolic marginalization. Yet environmental justice scholarship has predominantly focused on material exposure and institutional exclusion. The role of media systems in mediating recognition—and in structuring which regions become publicly visible—remains comparatively underdeveloped. This creates a crucial conceptual linkage: environmental justice explains who is affected, but less systematically explains who is seen and how such visibility is spatially organized within communicative infrastructures. Spatial Theory and Socio-Spatial Production Spatial theory conceptualizes space not as a neutral container but as socially produced through institutional and representational practices. Lefebvre ( 1991 ) argues that space is generated through the interaction of material, symbolic, and institutional processes. Soja ( 2010 ) extends this argument through the concept of spatial justice, highlighting how uneven geographies reflect deeper power relations. Massey ( 2005 ) conceptualizes space as relational and dynamic, constituted through networks of interaction and uneven connectivity, while Harvey ( 2006 ) links spatial differentiation to broader political-economic processes of uneven development. Despite this strong theoretical foundation, spatial theory has rarely been translated into measurable categories within climate communication research. Spatial inequality is often discussed conceptually, but less often examined through systematic indicators of media visibility. Media Geography and Spatial Visibility Media geography provides a direct analytical bridge by conceptualizing media as spatial practices that construct geographies of meaning. Adams ( 2011 ) argues that media shape perceptions of place through inclusion, exclusion, and narrative emphasis. Jansson and Falkheimer ( 2006 ) similarly emphasize how media generate spatial imaginaries that influence political and cultural understandings of territory. This perspective is especially relevant for climate communication because environmental vulnerability becomes publicly meaningful through mediated representations of place. Media do not merely report climate events as isolated occurrences; they position regions within broader symbolic geographies of risk, governance, neglect, or vulnerability. In this sense, spatial visibility becomes a key mechanism through which some places are made central to national environmental discourse while others remain peripheral. Within climate communication, such processes may produce symbolic hierarchies in which certain regions are consistently foregrounded while others remain comparatively marginal. However, this literature remains largely conceptual. Systematic quantification of spatial visibility—particularly within Global South media systems—remains limited. Here, media geography and environmental justice intersect: visibility is simultaneously a spatial and normative category, yet its empirical distribution across territory remains insufficiently examined. South Asian and Pakistani Context Empirical research in South Asian media systems identifies persistent metropolitan bias, with major urban centers dominating news production and agenda-setting (Thussu, 2007 ). Pakistan’s broader development landscape reflects significant regional inequality, with structurally vulnerable regions facing disproportionate environmental and infrastructural challenges (Hussain & Bangash, 2017 ). Climate reporting in Pakistan is frequently characterized as episodic and disaster-driven. Iftikhar et al. ( 2026 ) demonstrate that Urdu newspapers rely heavily on event-based reporting, particularly during climate-related disasters. Umber et al. ( 2023 ) similarly find that coverage is concentrated around flood events, with limited sustained engagement with long-term climate processes. Asif et al. ( 2024 ) attribute inconsistent reporting to structural and institutional constraints, while Hussain et al. ( 2024 ) highlight economic and professional limitations affecting sustained coverage. Khan et al. ( 2024 ) further show that climate-induced displacement remains underreported. Collectively, these studies suggest that climate journalism in Pakistan operates within a reactive model driven by disaster peaks rather than sustained structural analysis. However, this literature remains largely descriptive and weakly integrated with spatial theory and environmental justice frameworks. It does not systematically examine whether geographic visibility itself follows patterned hierarchical distribution across provinces. Synthesis and Research Gap The literature reveals three unresolved tensions. First, climate communication research provides extensive insight into framing and narrative construction but gives comparatively less attention to the geographic distribution of environmental attention. Second, environmental justice scholarship explains material inequality and recognition yet rarely incorporates media systems as mechanisms structuring visibility. Third, spatial and media geography theories offer robust conceptual accounts of socio-spatial production but remain insufficiently operationalized within empirical climate communication research, particularly in Global South contexts. This study addresses these gaps by integrating spatial theory, environmental justice, and media framing within a quantitative content analysis framework. By operationalizing geographic visibility as a measurable empirical variable, it examines how national media systems contribute to the patterned construction of environmental spatial recognition. In doing so, it advances a spatially grounded understanding of climate communication that links material vulnerability, symbolic visibility, and mediated spatial production. Theoretical Framework This study develops an integrated theoretical framework to explain how climate-affected regions are differentially constructed in news discourse as uneven fields of spatial visibility. It brings together spatial theory, environmental justice, and framing theory not as separate explanatory traditions, but as interconnected components of a unified analytical approach through which media systems contribute to the patterned production of spatial differentiation in environmental communication. The framework avoids deterministic claims about media “producing” space in a material sense. Instead, spatial inequality is conceptualized as an emergent outcome of recurring institutional routines, discursive conventions, and representational practices. Media do not directly create spatial hierarchies; rather, they participate in their ongoing reproduction through patterned distributions of visibility and emphasis. At an analytical level, the framework operates through three interdependent dimensions: Spatial constitution of meaning (Lefebvre; Massey) Recognition and spatial justice (Soja; Schlosberg) Framing as discursive structuration (Entman) Together, these dimensions explain how environmental space becomes differentially visible, unevenly organized, and symbolically structured in media discourse. Spatial Constitution of Environmental Meaning (Lefebvre and Massey) Spatial theory conceptualizes space not as a neutral container but as a socially produced outcome of representation, circulation, and power relations. Henri Lefebvre ( 1991 ) argues that space is produced through institutional and representational practices that inscribe social order onto geography. Within media systems, this occurs indirectly through journalistic selection, sourcing, and emphasis, which shape the differential visibility of places in environmental discourse. However, spatial visibility is not fixed or predetermined. It emerges under conditions of institutional constraint, professional routines, and uneven informational access, resulting in variable rather than stable spatial outcomes. Doreen Massey ( 2005 ) extends this understanding by conceptualizing space as relational—constructed through networks of interaction and unequal connectivity. Regions therefore function as nodes within communicative geographies, where visibility depends on their relational positioning within media and institutional networks. Together, Lefebvre and Massey suggest that spatial visibility is not territorially given but relationally constituted through mediated systems of connection and representation. Spatial Justice and Recognition Spatial justice theory, as developed by Edward Soja ( 2010 ), conceptualizes spatial inequality as a structural outcome of historically embedded power relations rather than a random distribution. Environmental justice scholarship further refines this perspective by distinguishing between material exposure and symbolic recognition (Schlosberg, 2007 ). Material exposure refers to differential vulnerability to environmental hazards, while symbolic recognition refers to the degree to which regions are acknowledged within public discourse. In this study, media visibility is treated as an indicator of symbolic recognition, though not its sole determinant. Recognition is therefore understood as a mediated process shaped by institutional hierarchies and communicative routines. Uneven visibility of climate-affected regions reflects patterned differences in recognition embedded within national media systems, rather than purely random variation. Framing as Spatial Structuration Framing theory, developed by Robert Entman ( 1993 ), explains how media construct meaning by selecting aspects of reality and making them salient through interpretive structures. Frames define problems, attribute causes, and shape evaluative judgments. This study extends framing beyond interpretive effects by emphasizing its spatial implications. Framing not only shapes how climate change is understood, but also contributes to where it is located within national discourse. Repeated association of specific regions with recurring interpretive frames (e.g., disaster, vulnerability, governance failure) generates patterned spatial regularities in representation. These regularities emerge through journalistic routines and institutional logics rather than fixed structural determination. Framing therefore functions as a mechanism of spatial structuration that produces tendencies of spatial association rather than rigid or deterministic hierarchies. Integrated Mechanism: Probabilistic Production of Spatial Visibility Integrating these dimensions, the study proposes a unified explanatory mechanism. Spatial inequality in environmental visibility emerges through the interaction of: relational positioning of space within media systems, differential recognition through patterns of visibility allocation, and framing practices that organize narrative attention. Together, these processes generate a systematic but non-deterministic pattern of spatial differentiation in climate communication. Importantly, this mechanism is not causal in a linear sense but relational in nature. Media systems do not directly produce spatial hierarchy; rather, spatial hierarchy emerges as a patterned outcome of uneven visibility allocation across regions. Spatial inequality in environmental communication is best understood as a patterned outcome of visibility distribution across geographic space, where differences in exposure, framing, and institutional mediation contribute to a differentiated organization of environmental attention. This formulation captures spatial production as an emergent effect of repeated communicative practices rather than as an externally imposed or deterministic structure. In simple terms, regions become more or less visible in climate discourse not because of fixed structural rules, but because of repeated patterns in how media select, frame, and prioritize different places over time. 4.5 Operational Translation for Empirical Analysis To empirically examine this mechanism, the study operationalizes spatial structuration through three analytical dimensions: Geographic visibility: distribution of regional attention across climate events Interpretive structure: episodic versus structural framing patterns Actor hierarchy: dominance of institutional versus local sources These indicators translate abstract spatial theory into measurable variables, enabling systematic analysis of how media systems contribute to uneven environmental visibility across geographic space. Methodology Research Design and Analytical Approach This study employs quantitative content analysis within a spatially informed media geography framework to examine how English-language newspapers in Pakistan construct and distribute the visibility of climate-affected regions. Content analysis is a systematic and replicable technique that enables the structured interpretation of textual data through predefined coding categories (Krippendorff, 2004 ; Neuendorf, 2017 ). It is particularly suitable for identifying patterned distributions of representation across geographic units while maintaining methodological transparency and reliability. Consistent with spatial theory, news articles are treated not as passive reflections of geography but as discursive sites in which geographic references are selectively organized and structured. However, the study does not assume that media deterministically produce spatial hierarchy; rather, it examines whether patterned differences in visibility emerge across regions. The design is comparative rather than inferential, focusing on structural differences between media institutions rather than estimating population-level media distributions. Data Sources, Population, and Sampling Strategy The study focuses on two nationally influential English-language newspapers: Dawn and The News International. These outlets were selected due to their national circulation, elite readership, and agenda-setting influence within policy and institutional discourse. The population consisted of all climate-related news articles published between June 2022 and December 2023. Articles were retrieved through a systematic keyword-based search of digital archives using terms including “climate change,” “flood,” “heatwave,” “drought,” “monsoon,” “disaster,” “climate risk,” and “environmental vulnerability.” This process yielded 487 articles (Dawn = 252; The News International = 235). After applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria—removing opinion pieces, editorials, international-only coverage, and non-substantive references—187 articles were excluded. The final dataset consisted of 300 articles. The study employs equal stratified sampling, selecting 150 articles from each newspaper. This approach ensures analytical comparability between outlets by maintaining structural equivalence. Rather than aiming for proportional representation, the sampling strategy prioritizes methodological control, enabling robust comparison of spatial patterns across media institutions. This non-proportional design was intentionally adopted to prevent dominance of one outlet over the other in comparative analysis, thereby ensuring that observed spatial patterns reflect structural differences in coverage rather than disparities in sample size. Within each newspaper, articles were selected using systematic random sampling to reduce selection bias. To assess sensitivity to sampling design, key distributions were compared with the full extracted dataset (n = 487). The results showed broadly similar directional patterns, indicating that the findings are not solely driven by sampling structure. Spatial Operationalization and Unit of Analysis The unit of analysis is the individual news article. Each article is treated as a discursive spatial unit in which geographic references, frames, and actor hierarchies are organized. Spatial meaning is therefore examined at the level of representation rather than physical geography. Spatial visibility was operationalized at the provincial scale (Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, ex-FATA, national/unspecified). Provinces were selected because they represent constitutionally recognized governance units and the primary scale at which disaster management and climate policy are structured in Pakistan. This approach introduces the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), as statistical patterns may vary across spatial scales. However, the provincial level remains analytically appropriate for capturing macro-level visibility patterns, even though it does not fully reflect intra-provincial variation. The analysis is limited to categorical and relational representations of space and does not incorporate GIS-based spatial modeling. To partially address this limitation, the study distinguishes between provincial, national, and urban-centered references, allowing for a layered understanding of spatial representation. Coding Scheme, Reliability, and Validity A structured coding instrument was developed to translate theoretical constructs into measurable variables across four dimensions: Geographic visibility : primary region referenced, headline visibility, and frequency of spatial mentions Interpretive structure : episodic versus structural framing Actor hierarchy : representation of federal, provincial, local, expert, and international actors Visibility intensity : article length and placement (front page vs inside pages) In addition, spatial role construction was coded to capture how regions were discursively positioned within news narratives (e.g., as disaster/victim zones, governance centers, or peripheral risk areas), enabling analysis of the symbolic roles assigned to different geographic locations. Front-page placement was coded where archival metadata were available; otherwise, articles were categorized as inside page/unspecified. Two independent coders were trained using a coding manual and a pilot sample of 30 articles. Intercoder reliability was assessed using Cohen’s Kappa, with all values exceeding the acceptable threshold (κ ≥ 0.70): Geographic visibility: κ = 0.84 Framing type: κ = 0.79 Spatial role construction: κ = 0.76 Actor representation: κ = 0.81 Visibility intensity: κ = 0.72 Construct validity was ensured through alignment between theoretical concepts and operational measures, linking spatial variables to spatial theory, recognition categories to environmental justice, and framing categories to Entman’s framework. Data Analysis and Methodological Positioning Data were analyzed using SPSS through descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, including frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, chi-square tests, and Cramér’s V for effect size estimation. These methods were used to examine associations between geographic regions, framing patterns, and actor hierarchies. The analysis is not intended to establish causal relationships but to identify statistically meaningful patterns of spatial differentiation consistent with the theoretical framework. Overall, this methodological approach operationalizes spatial visibility as a measurable dimension of environmental communication. It contributes by translating spatial theory into quantifiable media variables, enabling systematic examination of how media systems distribute environmental attention across geographic space. While spatiality is treated categorically rather than through geospatial modeling, the design provides an empirically grounded framework for analyzing spatial inequality in climate communication within national elite media systems. Results This section presents findings from the quantitative content analysis of 300 news articles (Dawn = 150; The News International = 150) published between June 2022 and December 2023. Results are organized around spatial visibility, framing patterns, spatial role construction, actor hierarchy, and inferential associations. Findings are interpreted relationally to assess whether structured patterns of spatial visibility emerge across regions. Spatial Distribution of Climate Coverage: Core–Periphery Gradient Table 1 Regional Visibility in Climate Reporting (N = 300) Region Frequency Percentage Punjab 98 32.7% Sindh 62 20.7% Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 54 18.0% Balochistan 28 9.3% ex-FATA / merged districts 18 6.0% National / Unspecified 40 13.3% Total 300 100% [Note: Insert Table 1 here] Climate coverage is unevenly distributed across regions, with Punjab receiving the highest share (32.7%), followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In contrast, Balochistan (9.3%) and ex-FATA (6.0%) remain comparatively underrepresented. This pattern reflects a clear gradient rather than marginal variation. Punjab alone receives more coverage than Balochistan and ex-FATA combined, and more than five times the coverage of ex-FATA individually. When aggregated, Punjab and Sindh account for over half of total subnational visibility (53.4%), whereas Balochistan and ex-FATA together account for only 15.3%. The “National/Unspecified” category (13.3%) further indicates instances of spatial abstraction, where climate events are reported without clear territorial anchoring. This suggests a tendency toward centralized or generalized framing of climate issues. Overall, the findings indicate a graded core–periphery pattern of visibility, where attention is concentrated in central regions while peripheral areas receive comparatively limited coverage. Framing Patterns: Event-Centered Climate Representation Table 2 Episodic vs Structural Framing Framing Type Frequency Percentage Episodic 212 70.7% Structural 88 29.3% Total 300 100% [Note: Insert Table 2 here] Coverage is dominated by episodic framing (70.7%), indicating that climate issues are primarily reported through discrete events rather than sustained structural processes. This pattern suggests that regional visibility is largely event-dependent, with areas gaining attention during disasters but lacking consistent representation in long-term environmental narratives. Structural framing remains limited (29.3%), constraining the extent to which climate issues are contextualized as systemic or geographically embedded processes. Spatial Role Construction: Differentiated Regional Positioning Table 3 Discursive Positioning of Regions Spatial Role Frequency Percentage Disaster / Victim Zone 144 48.0% Governance / Policy Center 76 25.3% Peripheral Risk Zone 52 17.3% Neutral / Background 28 9.4% Total 300 100% [Note: Insert Table 3 here] Nearly half of all coverage (48.0%) positions regions as disaster or victim zones, reflecting a strong vulnerability-centered representation. In contrast, governance and policy roles (25.3%) are more frequently associated with central regions, while peripheral areas are more commonly framed as risk zones. This indicates a differentiated symbolic geography, where regions are assigned distinct narrative functions within climate discourse. Rather than uniform representation, regions are systematically positioned as sites of crisis, governance, or peripheral risk, suggesting structured variation in spatial meaning. Actor Hierarchy: Institutional Dominance in Climate Narratives Table 4 Dominant Sources in Coverage Actor Type Frequency Percentage Federal Government 112 37.3% Provincial Government 68 22.7% Experts / Academics 54 18.0% Local Communities 42 14.0% NGOs / International Orgs 24 8.0% Total 300 100% [Note: Insert Table 4 here] Climate reporting is characterized by a strong institutional hierarchy, with federal actors dominating coverage (37.3%). Local communities are comparatively underrepresented (14.0%). This distribution indicates that regional visibility is mediated primarily through centralized institutional voices, rather than locally grounded perspectives, reinforcing a top-down structure of climate communication. Newspaper Comparison: Convergent Spatial Patterns Table 5 Regional Coverage Comparison Region Type Dawn (%) The News (%) Punjab + Sindh 52.0 55.3 KP + Balochistan + ex-FATA 29.3 25.0 National/Unspecified 18.7 19.7 [Note: Insert Table 5 here] Both newspapers exhibit highly similar spatial distributions, with only minor variation. This suggests that observed patterns are systemic rather than outlet-specific, reflecting broader institutional dynamics within the media system. Inferential Analysis: Conditional Spatial Associations Province × Framing Type Test Value χ² 18.742 Df 5 p-value 0.003 Cramér’s V 0.178 [Note: Insert Table here] The relationship between region and framing type is statistically significant (p < 0.01) but modest in strength (Cramér’s V = 0.178). This indicates that geography is associated with framing patterns, though not strongly deterministic. Province × Actor Type Test Value χ² 21.615 Df 8 p-value 0.006 Cramér’s V 0.153 [Note: Insert Table here] A similarly significant but modest association exists between region and actor representation. Institutional dominance persists across regions, with limited variation. Taken together, the results reveal three consistent spatial tendencies. First, a core–periphery gradient in geographic visibility is evident, with central regions receiving disproportionately greater coverage than peripheral areas. Second, climate reporting is predominantly structured through an event-centered framing approach, where episodic representations are emphasized over broader structural narratives. Third, a centralized institutional voice hierarchy characterizes coverage, with federal actors playing a dominant role in shaping climate discourse. Collectively, these patterns indicate a moderately structured system of environmental visibility in which spatial differentiation emerges through recurring distributions of attention, framing, and sourcing rather than through absolute exclusion. From a theoretical perspective, these findings support the proposed model of spatial production as a communicative process, whereby environmental visibility is unevenly distributed across regions. This uneven distribution reflects patterned tendencies in media representation that contribute to shaping the relative centrality and marginality of regions within national climate discourse. Discussion The findings indicate a consistent but moderate spatial unevenness in climate reporting across Pakistan’s English-language press. While central regions receive greater attention, structurally vulnerable areas remain comparatively less visible. Importantly, this pattern reflects differentiated inclusion rather than complete exclusion, as regions are unevenly incorporated into national climate discourse. The modest effect sizes further reinforce that spatial variation exists but is not rigidly deterministic. Spatial Differentiation as Visibility Structuring From a Lefebvrian perspective, spatial ordering in climate reporting operates through uneven distributions of visibility. Rather than binary inclusion or exclusion, regions occupy different positions within a layered communicative field. Some areas are consistently closer to the center of climate discourse, while others appear intermittently, resulting in a graded structure of attention shaped by institutional routines and editorial practices. Relational Positioning and Mediated Space Drawing on Massey’s relational conception of space, regional visibility can be understood as a function of position within communicative and institutional networks. The dominance of episodic framing reinforces this dynamic, as regions gain prominence primarily during discrete events rather than through sustained representation. Consequently, spatial meaning is not fixed but context-dependent, with peripheral regions more frequently associated with crisis narratives, while central locations are more closely linked to governance and policy discourse. Recognition, Visibility, and Spatial Justice The findings further highlight the role of symbolic recognition in shaping environmental discourse. Regions are not only unevenly represented but also differentially positioned, often as sites of vulnerability, governance, or peripheral risk. From an environmental justice perspective, this reflects unequal symbolic recognition rather than uniform communicative inclusion. At the same time, the moderate strength of associations suggests that visibility is best understood as a distributed resource—unevenly allocated but not monopolized by any single region. Recognition therefore emerges through gradations of visibility, rather than fixed or absolute hierarchies. Institutional Mediation and Spatial Embeddedness The dominance of federal actors indicates that climate discourse is institutionally mediated, with visibility often structured through centralized sources of authority. This reflects broader patterns of governance centralization, where information flows originate in major urban and political centers and extend unevenly toward peripheral regions. As a result, spatial representation is closely tied to institutional voice and access, reinforcing existing communicative asymmetries. Systemic Convergence Across Newspapers The similarity in spatial patterns across Dawn and The News International suggests that these dynamics are systemic rather than outlet-specific. Spatial differentiation in climate reporting appears to be shaped by broader institutional structures within the media system, rather than individual editorial variation. Synthesis: Conditional Spatial Production of Visibility Taken together, the findings support a model in which climate visibility emerges through the interaction of geographic attention, framing practices, and institutional sourcing. These processes generate consistent but moderate patterns of spatial differentiation, reinforcing the idea that environmental visibility is structured through recurring communicative practices. Importantly, spatial patterns observed here are not merely descriptive but constitutive of how environmental issues are publicly understood. Media systems do not simply mirror geographic inequality; they participate in its organization by shaping which regions are visible, how they are framed, and whose voices are prioritized. In this sense, spatial differentiation operates as a patterned visibility order, continuously reproduced through media practices. Applied Implications: Decentralizing Climate Visibility These findings have important implications for both media systems and environmental governance. The concentration of attention in central regions highlights the need for more geographically balanced climate reporting. Strengthening regional journalism capacity is essential, particularly in underrepresented areas such as Balochistan and ex-FATA. Expanding reporting networks and incorporating local correspondents can enhance direct coverage of vulnerable regions. In addition, reducing reliance on metropolitan news hubs may diversify narrative perspectives and improve representational balance. Long-term improvement requires institutional investment in regional media infrastructure, ensuring that peripheral regions are not only visible during crises but are consistently represented in climate discourse. More broadly, integrating spatial awareness into editorial decision-making can help align media practices with principles of environmental justice, where visibility itself functions as a dimension of equity and inclusion. Conclusion This study examined how climate-affected regions in Pakistan are constructed within English-language newspaper discourse through measurable patterns of geographic visibility, framing, and actor representation. By integrating quantitative content analysis with spatial theory and media framing approaches, it demonstrates that climate communication functions as a system of representation rather than a neutral reflection of environmental conditions. Empirical results indicate a concentration of visibility in central provinces, alongside comparatively lower representation of peripheral and structurally vulnerable regions. Statistical associations between province, framing type, and actor hierarchy show that geography influences narrative construction, though in moderate and non-deterministic ways. Spatial differentiation in climate reporting therefore emerges as a patterned tendency within elite media discourse. The findings further demonstrate that media systems shape how environmental issues are distributed across space through routine practices of selection, sourcing, and framing. These processes influence which regions enter climate narratives and how they are represented, resulting in uneven patterns of visibility across provinces. Theoretically, the study contributes to climate communication research by foregrounding spatial analysis as a critical dimension of environmental discourse. It shows that framing operates within uneven media geographies, while environmental justice concerns extend beyond material exposure to include symbolic recognition and visibility. Media geography thus provides a valuable framework for understanding how environmental meaning is spatially organized within national discourse. From a practical perspective, improving geographically balanced reporting requires strengthening regional journalism networks, expanding field-level reporting, and reducing reliance on centralized news flows. Such efforts can enhance not only the quantity of coverage but also the ways in which climate relevance is constructed across regions. Future research should examine whether similar spatial patterns persist across broadcast and digital media and explore how multilingual media systems may reshape or reinforce these visibility dynamics. Overall, this study demonstrates that spatial inequality in climate communication is not merely reflective, but constitutive of environmental visibility, shaping how climate vulnerability is recognized, prioritized, and understood in public discourse. Declarations Author Contribution Awrang Khan: Conceptualization; Methodology; Formal analysis; Investigation; Data curation; Writing – original draft; Writing – review & editing; Visualization; Supervision. Acknowledgement The author acknowledges the intellectual and moral engagement of Dr. Afra Siyab Khattak, Aurangzaib, and Dr. Adil Zareef, whose continued concern for climate change and commitment to environmental sustainability reflect the broader urgency of addressing climate challenges in contemporary society.Their engagement underscores the importance of recognizing climate change not only as an environmental issue but also as a shared social and ethical responsibility, which resonates with the broader perspective of this research. Data Availability The data supporting the findings of this study are based on publicly accessible newspaper archives (Dawn and The News International). 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From a material geography perspective, climate risks are structured through physical exposure, governance capacity, and socio-economic vulnerability, producing differentiated patterns of environmental harm across regions (IPCC, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Adger, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). Extreme events such as floods, heatwaves, and droughts disproportionately affect already vulnerable areas, making climate change not only an environmental phenomenon but also a socio-spatial condition embedded in real-world geographic inequalities (Roberts \u0026amp; Parks, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Pelling, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMedia systems operate at a related but analytically distinct level of spatial organization. Rather than directly mirroring material exposure, news institutions construct discursive geographies through processes of selection, emphasis, and omission (Entman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e; Boykoff, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). These representational practices generate \u0026ldquo;geographies of visibility,\u0026rdquo; in which certain regions are repeatedly foregrounded as sites of crisis while others remain comparatively underrepresented (Carvalho, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Importantly, this study does not suggest that media produce physical space or material vulnerability; rather, it argues that they contribute to the spatial production of visibility through which environmental vulnerability becomes socially and politically legible.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite extensive scholarship on climate framing, media discourse, and spatial imaginaries (Adams, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Jansson \u0026amp; Falkheimer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Cottle, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e), relatively few studies have operationalized geographic visibility as a measurable empirical category. This gap is particularly evident in Global South contexts, where material vulnerability and representational inequality intersect but are rarely examined through systematic spatial analysis. Consequently, the spatial organization of climate communication\u0026mdash;specifically how attention is distributed across regions within national media systems\u0026mdash;remains under-theorized and empirically under-tested.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePakistan provides a critical case for examining this issue. Ranked among the countries most vulnerable to climate change, it has experienced repeated extreme weather events, including the catastrophic floods of 2022 and prolonged heatwaves (NDMA, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; World Bank, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). These impacts are unevenly distributed across space. Peripheral and historically marginalized regions such as Balochistan, parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas (ex-FATA) face heightened exposure due to infrastructural deficits, governance constraints, and socio-economic exclusion (Usman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e). However, whether this uneven material geography is reflected in proportional media attention remains an empirical question.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study addresses this gap by focusing on patterned representational differentiation in climate reporting. Here, spatial production is understood not as the material creation of physical territory, but as the communicative organization of visibility, framing, and narrative attention across geographic regions within media discourse. In this sense, space is analytically treated as a communicative outcome\u0026mdash;structured through repeated journalistic practices rather than ontologically produced.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing on environmental justice theory, media visibility is conceptualized as a form of symbolic spatial recognition that is unevenly distributed (Schlosberg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Material vulnerability refers to exposure to environmental risk, whereas symbolic visibility refers to the degree to which regions are acknowledged within public discourse. These dimensions are analytically distinct but relational, as limited or episodic visibility may contribute to the marginalization of already vulnerable regions within national environmental imagination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccordingly, this study examines how English-language newspapers in Pakistan represent climate-affected regions and whether such representations reproduce patterned spatial inequality. Focusing on \u003cem\u003eDawn\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe News International\u003c/em\u003e during 2022\u0026ndash;2023, it analyzes coverage of major climate events\u0026mdash;including floods, heatwaves, and droughts\u0026mdash;to assess geographic distribution, framing patterns, and actor representation. Specifically, the study investigates how climate-related news is geographically distributed across Pakistan\u0026rsquo;s regions, how different spatial contexts are framed within episodic and structural narratives, and how various geographic areas are positioned within institutional and non-institutional actor hierarchies. In doing so, it addresses three interrelated questions concerning the geographic distribution of coverage, the framing of regions within climate discourse, and the relationship between spatial representation and actor hierarchies in national media reporting.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe central argument is that climate reporting in Pakistan is not spatially neutral. Instead, it contributes to a patterned production of environmental visibility, wherein certain regions are consistently foregrounded while others remain comparatively marginal. This does not imply a direct reproduction of material inequalities, but rather a mediated system of differentiated recognition that shapes how environmental vulnerability is publicly perceived and politically prioritized.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBy empirically examining the spatial production of climate reporting in a Global South context, this study contributes to three intersecting fields: climate communication, by foregrounding geographic visibility as an analytical variable; media geography, by operationalizing spatial representation as a measurable construct; and environmental justice scholarship, by distinguishing between material and symbolic dimensions of inequality. In doing so, it advances a spatially grounded account of how environmental vulnerability is mediated, structured, and differentially recognized within national media systems.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Literature Review","content":"\u003cp\u003eResearch on climate change communication has progressively shifted from a narrow concern with scientific accuracy toward understanding environmental knowledge as socially constructed through media systems, institutional routines, and power relations (Carvalho, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Sch\u0026auml;fer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Because climate change is temporally diffuse and experientially abstract, most citizens encounter it primarily through mediated representation rather than direct perception (Moser, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Newman et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). News media therefore function not merely as transmitters of scientific information but as central arenas in which environmental problems are made publicly intelligible and socially salient (Schmidt et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Sampei \u0026amp; Aoyagi-Usui, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin this broader shift, three interconnected strands are central to the present study: (i) climate framing and media construction of environmental knowledge, (ii) environmental justice and recognition, and (iii) spatial theory and media geography. While each strand is theoretically well established, their empirical integration remains limited\u0026mdash;particularly in explaining how spatial inequality is reproduced through patterned media visibility in Global South contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClimate change is globally pervasive but unevenly experienced. Although it constitutes a worldwide environmental crisis (Cottle, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; IPCC, 2014), its most severe impacts disproportionately affect less industrialized countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America (Althor et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Bathiany et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; UNFCCC, 2007). At the same time, climate communication research and policy discourse remain disproportionately dominated by Global North institutions (Blicharska et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Sch\u0026auml;fer \u0026amp; Schlichting, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Cross-national studies show persistent differences in issue attention and thematic framing between Global North and South media systems (Barkemeyer et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Vu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). However, while international asymmetries are increasingly documented, far less attention has been given to internal spatial hierarchies within national media systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe gap addressed here is therefore not a general absence of scholarship, but a specific spatial\u0026ndash;empirical integration gap: the disconnect between spatial theory, environmental justice, and the measurable distribution of geographic visibility in climate reporting.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eClimate Framing and the Media Construction of Environmental Knowledge\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA substantial body of research demonstrates that journalism plays a constitutive role in shaping environmental knowledge. Rather than neutrally transmitting scientific findings, environmental reporting is structured by professional norms, narrative conventions, and institutional constraints (Bell, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1994a\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1994b\u003c/span\u003e; Dunwoody \u0026amp; Peters, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e). Competing political and scientific actors strategically frame environmental issues to influence public discourse (Miller \u0026amp; Riechert, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClimate change, in particular, becomes socially intelligible through narrative translation processes that prioritize familiarity, emotional resonance, and event-based storytelling (O\u0026rsquo;Neill \u0026amp; Boykoff, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Ungar, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2000\u003c/span\u003e). Carvalho and Burgess (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) further show that climate discourse is embedded within broader ideological and political-economic contexts. Framing research grounded in Entman\u0026rsquo;s (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e) conceptualization highlights how problem definition, causal attribution, moral evaluation, and treatment recommendation structure interpretive meaning.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMoreover, issue attention itself functions as an indicator of social problem construction (Schmidt et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Climate change competes with other issues for limited communicative space, and fluctuations in coverage often correspond to focusing events such as extreme weather, policy summits, or IPCC reports (Birkland, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e; Pralle, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Sch\u0026auml;fer et al., 2014). Such event-driven logic frequently produces episodic rather than sustained structural coverage (B\u0026oslash;dker \u0026amp; Neverla, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhile this literature offers rich insight into interpretive processes, it gives comparatively less attention to how environmental visibility is geographically distributed across regions within national discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eJournalistic Norms, Institutional Context, and Structural Bias\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA related strand of scholarship examines journalistic norms such as objectivity and balance. Although intended to ensure fairness, the norm of balance has been shown to produce epistemic distortion in climate reporting by amplifying marginal skepticism (Boykoff \u0026amp; Boykoff, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; Entman, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e; Gelbspan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNews production is also embedded within broader political and economic structures that shape issue salience and thematic emphasis (Reese, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e; Shoemaker \u0026amp; Reese, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e). In many Global South contexts, journalistic cultures are influenced by developmental priorities and resource constraints, which may affect both the quantity and framing of climate coverage (Kalyango et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Nguyen \u0026amp; Tran, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Nassanga et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Scarcity of specialized science journalism resources further contributes to uneven coverage patterns (Sch\u0026auml;fer \u0026amp; Painter, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, despite identifying institutional influences on environmental discourse, this literature focuses primarily on ideological and professional dynamics. It provides limited analytical tools for examining how journalistic routines contribute to patterned geographic differentiation in climate visibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eEnvironmental Justice, Inequality, and Recognition\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEnvironmental justice scholarship offers a normative framework for understanding inequality in environmental systems. It argues that environmental harm is structured through historical and political-economic inequalities rather than randomly distributed (Roberts \u0026amp; Parks, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e; Schlosberg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). At the global level, climate vulnerability disproportionately affects countries that have contributed least to greenhouse gas emissions (Althor et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Bathiany et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSchlosberg (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e) extends environmental justice theory beyond distributive concerns to include recognition and participation. Recognition implies that visibility itself functions as a form of political and symbolic power. Groups or regions that remain unseen within public discourse may experience a secondary form of injustice\u0026mdash;symbolic marginalization.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYet environmental justice scholarship has predominantly focused on material exposure and institutional exclusion. The role of media systems in mediating recognition\u0026mdash;and in structuring which regions become publicly visible\u0026mdash;remains comparatively underdeveloped. This creates a crucial conceptual linkage: environmental justice explains who is affected, but less systematically explains who is seen and how such visibility is spatially organized within communicative infrastructures.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSpatial Theory and Socio-Spatial Production\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpatial theory conceptualizes space not as a neutral container but as socially produced through institutional and representational practices. Lefebvre (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e) argues that space is generated through the interaction of material, symbolic, and institutional processes. Soja (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e) extends this argument through the concept of spatial justice, highlighting how uneven geographies reflect deeper power relations. Massey (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) conceptualizes space as relational and dynamic, constituted through networks of interaction and uneven connectivity, while Harvey (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) links spatial differentiation to broader political-economic processes of uneven development.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDespite this strong theoretical foundation, spatial theory has rarely been translated into measurable categories within climate communication research. Spatial inequality is often discussed conceptually, but less often examined through systematic indicators of media visibility.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMedia Geography and Spatial Visibility\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMedia geography provides a direct analytical bridge by conceptualizing media as spatial practices that construct geographies of meaning. Adams (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e) argues that media shape perceptions of place through inclusion, exclusion, and narrative emphasis. Jansson and Falkheimer (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e) similarly emphasize how media generate spatial imaginaries that influence political and cultural understandings of territory.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis perspective is especially relevant for climate communication because environmental vulnerability becomes publicly meaningful through mediated representations of place. Media do not merely report climate events as isolated occurrences; they position regions within broader symbolic geographies of risk, governance, neglect, or vulnerability. In this sense, spatial visibility becomes a key mechanism through which some places are made central to national environmental discourse while others remain peripheral.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin climate communication, such processes may produce symbolic hierarchies in which certain regions are consistently foregrounded while others remain comparatively marginal. However, this literature remains largely conceptual. Systematic quantification of spatial visibility\u0026mdash;particularly within Global South media systems\u0026mdash;remains limited.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHere, media geography and environmental justice intersect: visibility is simultaneously a spatial and normative category, yet its empirical distribution across territory remains insufficiently examined.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSouth Asian and Pakistani Context\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmpirical research in South Asian media systems identifies persistent metropolitan bias, with major urban centers dominating news production and agenda-setting (Thussu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e). Pakistan\u0026rsquo;s broader development landscape reflects significant regional inequality, with structurally vulnerable regions facing disproportionate environmental and infrastructural challenges (Hussain \u0026amp; Bangash, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClimate reporting in Pakistan is frequently characterized as episodic and disaster-driven. Iftikhar et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2026\u003c/span\u003e) demonstrate that Urdu newspapers rely heavily on event-based reporting, particularly during climate-related disasters. Umber et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) similarly find that coverage is concentrated around flood events, with limited sustained engagement with long-term climate processes. Asif et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) attribute inconsistent reporting to structural and institutional constraints, while Hussain et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) highlight economic and professional limitations affecting sustained coverage. Khan et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e) further show that climate-induced displacement remains underreported.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCollectively, these studies suggest that climate journalism in Pakistan operates within a reactive model driven by disaster peaks rather than sustained structural analysis. However, this literature remains largely descriptive and weakly integrated with spatial theory and environmental justice frameworks. It does not systematically examine whether geographic visibility itself follows patterned hierarchical distribution across provinces.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSynthesis and Research Gap\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe literature reveals three unresolved tensions. First, climate communication research provides extensive insight into framing and narrative construction but gives comparatively less attention to the geographic distribution of environmental attention. Second, environmental justice scholarship explains material inequality and recognition yet rarely incorporates media systems as mechanisms structuring visibility. Third, spatial and media geography theories offer robust conceptual accounts of socio-spatial production but remain insufficiently operationalized within empirical climate communication research, particularly in Global South contexts.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study addresses these gaps by integrating spatial theory, environmental justice, and media framing within a quantitative content analysis framework. By operationalizing geographic visibility as a measurable empirical variable, it examines how national media systems contribute to the patterned construction of environmental spatial recognition. In doing so, it advances a spatially grounded understanding of climate communication that links material vulnerability, symbolic visibility, and mediated spatial production.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTheoretical Framework\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis study develops an integrated theoretical framework to explain how climate-affected regions are differentially constructed in news discourse as uneven fields of spatial visibility. It brings together spatial theory, environmental justice, and framing theory not as separate explanatory traditions, but as interconnected components of a unified analytical approach through which media systems contribute to the patterned production of spatial differentiation in environmental communication.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe framework avoids deterministic claims about media \u0026ldquo;producing\u0026rdquo; space in a material sense. Instead, spatial inequality is conceptualized as an emergent outcome of recurring institutional routines, discursive conventions, and representational practices. Media do not directly create spatial hierarchies; rather, they participate in their ongoing reproduction through patterned distributions of visibility and emphasis.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt an analytical level, the framework operates through three interdependent dimensions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003col\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial constitution of meaning (Lefebvre; Massey)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecognition and spatial justice (Soja; Schlosberg)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003cspan\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eFraming as discursive structuration (Entman)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/span\u003e \u003c/ol\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTogether, these dimensions explain how environmental space becomes differentially visible, unevenly organized, and symbolically structured in media discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpatial Constitution of Environmental Meaning (Lefebvre and Massey)\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial theory conceptualizes space not as a neutral container but as a socially produced outcome of representation, circulation, and power relations. Henri Lefebvre (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1991\u003c/span\u003e) argues that space is produced through institutional and representational practices that inscribe social order onto geography. Within media systems, this occurs indirectly through journalistic selection, sourcing, and emphasis, which shape the differential visibility of places in environmental discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, spatial visibility is not fixed or predetermined. It emerges under conditions of institutional constraint, professional routines, and uneven informational access, resulting in variable rather than stable spatial outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDoreen Massey (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e) extends this understanding by conceptualizing space as relational\u0026mdash;constructed through networks of interaction and unequal connectivity. Regions therefore function as nodes within communicative geographies, where visibility depends on their relational positioning within media and institutional networks.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTogether, Lefebvre and Massey suggest that spatial visibility is not territorially given but relationally constituted through mediated systems of connection and representation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpatial Justice and Recognition\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial justice theory, as developed by Edward Soja (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e), conceptualizes spatial inequality as a structural outcome of historically embedded power relations rather than a random distribution. Environmental justice scholarship further refines this perspective by distinguishing between material exposure and symbolic recognition (Schlosberg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMaterial exposure refers to differential vulnerability to environmental hazards, while symbolic recognition refers to the degree to which regions are acknowledged within public discourse. In this study, media visibility is treated as an indicator of symbolic recognition, though not its sole determinant.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRecognition is therefore understood as a mediated process shaped by institutional hierarchies and communicative routines. Uneven visibility of climate-affected regions reflects patterned differences in recognition embedded within national media systems, rather than purely random variation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eFraming as Spatial Structuration\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFraming theory, developed by Robert Entman (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1993\u003c/span\u003e), explains how media construct meaning by selecting aspects of reality and making them salient through interpretive structures. Frames define problems, attribute causes, and shape evaluative judgments.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study extends framing beyond interpretive effects by emphasizing its spatial implications. Framing not only shapes how climate change is understood, but also contributes to where it is located within national discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRepeated association of specific regions with recurring interpretive frames (e.g., disaster, vulnerability, governance failure) generates patterned spatial regularities in representation. These regularities emerge through journalistic routines and institutional logics rather than fixed structural determination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFraming therefore functions as a mechanism of spatial structuration that produces tendencies of spatial association rather than rigid or deterministic hierarchies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eIntegrated Mechanism: Probabilistic Production of Spatial Visibility\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntegrating these dimensions, the study proposes a unified explanatory mechanism. Spatial inequality in environmental visibility emerges through the interaction of:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003erelational positioning of space within media systems,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003edifferential recognition through patterns of visibility allocation, and\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eframing practices that organize narrative attention.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTogether, these processes generate a systematic but non-deterministic pattern of spatial differentiation in climate communication.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eImportantly, this mechanism is not causal in a linear sense but relational in nature. Media systems do not directly produce spatial hierarchy; rather, spatial hierarchy emerges as a patterned outcome of uneven visibility allocation across regions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial inequality in environmental communication is best understood as a patterned outcome of visibility distribution across geographic space, where differences in exposure, framing, and institutional mediation contribute to a differentiated organization of environmental attention.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis formulation captures spatial production as an emergent effect of repeated communicative practices rather than as an externally imposed or deterministic structure.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn simple terms, regions become more or less visible in climate discourse not because of fixed structural rules, but because of repeated patterns in how media select, frame, and prioritize different places over time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003e4.5 Operational Translation for Empirical Analysis\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo empirically examine this mechanism, the study operationalizes spatial structuration through three analytical dimensions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeographic visibility: distribution of regional attention across climate events\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eInterpretive structure: episodic versus structural framing patterns\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eActor hierarchy: dominance of institutional versus local sources\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese indicators translate abstract spatial theory into measurable variables, enabling systematic analysis of how media systems contribute to uneven environmental visibility across geographic space.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Methodology","content":" \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eResearch Design and Analytical Approach\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study employs quantitative content analysis within a spatially informed media geography framework to examine how English-language newspapers in Pakistan construct and distribute the visibility of climate-affected regions. Content analysis is a systematic and replicable technique that enables the structured interpretation of textual data through predefined coding categories (Krippendorff, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2004\u003c/span\u003e; Neuendorf, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). It is particularly suitable for identifying patterned distributions of representation across geographic units while maintaining methodological transparency and reliability.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConsistent with spatial theory, news articles are treated not as passive reflections of geography but as discursive sites in which geographic references are selectively organized and structured. However, the study does not assume that media deterministically produce spatial hierarchy; rather, it examines whether patterned differences in visibility emerge across regions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe design is comparative rather than inferential, focusing on structural differences between media institutions rather than estimating population-level media distributions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData Sources, Population, and Sampling Strategy\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study focuses on two nationally influential English-language newspapers: Dawn and The News International. These outlets were selected due to their national circulation, elite readership, and agenda-setting influence within policy and institutional discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe population consisted of all climate-related news articles published between June 2022 and December 2023. Articles were retrieved through a systematic keyword-based search of digital archives using terms including \u0026ldquo;climate change,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;flood,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;heatwave,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;drought,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;monsoon,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;disaster,\u0026rdquo; \u0026ldquo;climate risk,\u0026rdquo; and \u0026ldquo;environmental vulnerability.\u0026rdquo; This process yielded 487 articles (Dawn\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;252; The News International\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;235).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAfter applying predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria\u0026mdash;removing opinion pieces, editorials, international-only coverage, and non-substantive references\u0026mdash;187 articles were excluded. The final dataset consisted of 300 articles.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study employs equal stratified sampling, selecting 150 articles from each newspaper. This approach ensures analytical comparability between outlets by maintaining structural equivalence. Rather than aiming for proportional representation, the sampling strategy prioritizes methodological control, enabling robust comparison of spatial patterns across media institutions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis non-proportional design was intentionally adopted to prevent dominance of one outlet over the other in comparative analysis, thereby ensuring that observed spatial patterns reflect structural differences in coverage rather than disparities in sample size.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWithin each newspaper, articles were selected using systematic random sampling to reduce selection bias.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo assess sensitivity to sampling design, key distributions were compared with the full extracted dataset (n\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;487). The results showed broadly similar directional patterns, indicating that the findings are not solely driven by sampling structure.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec18\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpatial Operationalization and Unit of Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe unit of analysis is the individual news article. Each article is treated as a discursive spatial unit in which geographic references, frames, and actor hierarchies are organized. Spatial meaning is therefore examined at the level of representation rather than physical geography.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial visibility was operationalized at the provincial scale (Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, ex-FATA, national/unspecified). Provinces were selected because they represent constitutionally recognized governance units and the primary scale at which disaster management and climate policy are structured in Pakistan.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis approach introduces the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem (MAUP), as statistical patterns may vary across spatial scales. However, the provincial level remains analytically appropriate for capturing macro-level visibility patterns, even though it does not fully reflect intra-provincial variation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analysis is limited to categorical and relational representations of space and does not incorporate GIS-based spatial modeling. To partially address this limitation, the study distinguishes between provincial, national, and urban-centered references, allowing for a layered understanding of spatial representation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec19\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCoding Scheme, Reliability, and Validity\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eA structured coding instrument was developed to translate theoretical constructs into measurable variables across four dimensions:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eGeographic visibility\u003c/b\u003e: primary region referenced, headline visibility, and frequency of spatial mentions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eInterpretive structure\u003c/b\u003e: episodic versus structural framing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eActor hierarchy\u003c/b\u003e: representation of federal, provincial, local, expert, and international actors\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eVisibility intensity\u003c/b\u003e: article length and placement (front page vs inside pages)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, spatial role construction was coded to capture how regions were discursively positioned within news narratives (e.g., as disaster/victim zones, governance centers, or peripheral risk areas), enabling analysis of the symbolic roles assigned to different geographic locations.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFront-page placement was coded where archival metadata were available; otherwise, articles were categorized as inside page/unspecified.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTwo independent coders were trained using a coding manual and a pilot sample of 30 articles. Intercoder reliability was assessed using Cohen\u0026rsquo;s Kappa, with all values exceeding the acceptable threshold (κ\u0026thinsp;\u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;0.70):\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eGeographic visibility: κ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.84\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eFraming type: κ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.79\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial role construction: κ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eActor representation: κ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.81\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eVisibility intensity: κ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.72\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eConstruct validity was ensured through alignment between theoretical concepts and operational measures, linking spatial variables to spatial theory, recognition categories to environmental justice, and framing categories to Entman\u0026rsquo;s framework.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec20\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eData Analysis and Methodological Positioning\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eData were analyzed using SPSS through descriptive and inferential statistical techniques, including frequency distributions, cross-tabulations, chi-square tests, and Cram\u0026eacute;r\u0026rsquo;s V for effect size estimation. These methods were used to examine associations between geographic regions, framing patterns, and actor hierarchies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe analysis is not intended to establish causal relationships but to identify statistically meaningful patterns of spatial differentiation consistent with the theoretical framework.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, this methodological approach operationalizes spatial visibility as a measurable dimension of environmental communication. It contributes by translating spatial theory into quantifiable media variables, enabling systematic examination of how media systems distribute environmental attention across geographic space. While spatiality is treated categorically rather than through geospatial modeling, the design provides an empirically grounded framework for analyzing spatial inequality in climate communication within national elite media systems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis section presents findings from the quantitative content analysis of 300 news articles (Dawn\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;150; The News International\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;150) published between June 2022 and December 2023. Results are organized around spatial visibility, framing patterns, spatial role construction, actor hierarchy, and inferential associations. Findings are interpreted relationally to assess whether structured patterns of spatial visibility emerge across regions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec22\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpatial Distribution of Climate Coverage: Core\u0026ndash;Periphery Gradient\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegional Visibility in Climate Reporting (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;300)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegion\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePunjab\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e98\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSindh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e62\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKhyber Pakhtunkhwa\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBalochistan\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.3%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eex-FATA / merged districts\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational / Unspecified\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e40\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.3%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e300\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ehere]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClimate coverage is unevenly distributed across regions, with Punjab receiving the highest share (32.7%), followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In contrast, Balochistan (9.3%) and ex-FATA (6.0%) remain comparatively underrepresented.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis pattern reflects a clear gradient rather than marginal variation. Punjab alone receives more coverage than Balochistan and ex-FATA combined, and more than five times the coverage of ex-FATA individually. When aggregated, Punjab and Sindh account for over half of total subnational visibility (53.4%), whereas Balochistan and ex-FATA together account for only 15.3%.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe \u0026ldquo;National/Unspecified\u0026rdquo; category (13.3%) further indicates instances of spatial abstraction, where climate events are reported without clear territorial anchoring. This suggests a tendency toward centralized or generalized framing of climate issues.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, the findings indicate a graded core\u0026ndash;periphery pattern of visibility, where attention is concentrated in central regions while peripheral areas receive comparatively limited coverage.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec23\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eFraming Patterns: Event-Centered Climate Representation\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEpisodic vs Structural Framing\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFraming Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEpisodic\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e212\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e70.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStructural\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e88\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.3%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e300\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ehere]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eCoverage is dominated by episodic framing (70.7%), indicating that climate issues are primarily reported through discrete events rather than sustained structural processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis pattern suggests that regional visibility is largely event-dependent, with areas gaining attention during disasters but lacking consistent representation in long-term environmental narratives. Structural framing remains limited (29.3%), constraining the extent to which climate issues are contextualized as systemic or geographically embedded processes.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec24\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpatial Role Construction: Differentiated Regional Positioning\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDiscursive Positioning of Regions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSpatial Role\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDisaster / Victim Zone\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e144\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGovernance / Policy Center\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e76\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.3%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeripheral Risk Zone\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.3%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNeutral / Background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.4%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e300\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ehere]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNearly half of all coverage (48.0%) positions regions as disaster or victim zones, reflecting a strong vulnerability-centered representation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn contrast, governance and policy roles (25.3%) are more frequently associated with central regions, while peripheral areas are more commonly framed as risk zones. This indicates a differentiated symbolic geography, where regions are assigned distinct narrative functions within climate discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRather than uniform representation, regions are systematically positioned as sites of crisis, governance, or peripheral risk, suggesting structured variation in spatial meaning.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec25\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eActor Hierarchy: Institutional Dominance in Climate Narratives\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDominant Sources in Coverage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eActor Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercentage\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFederal Government\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e112\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.3%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProvincial Government\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e68\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eExperts / Academics\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLocal Communities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e42\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNGOs / International Orgs\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTotal\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e300\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e100%\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ehere]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eClimate reporting is characterized by a strong institutional hierarchy, with federal actors dominating coverage (37.3%). Local communities are comparatively underrepresented (14.0%).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis distribution indicates that regional visibility is mediated primarily through centralized institutional voices, rather than locally grounded perspectives, reinforcing a top-down structure of climate communication.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec26\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eNewspaper Comparison: Convergent Spatial Patterns\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegional Coverage Comparison\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegion Type\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDawn (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe News (%)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePunjab\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Sindh\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eKP\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;Balochistan\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;ex-FATA\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNational/Unspecified\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e19.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ehere]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBoth newspapers exhibit highly similar spatial distributions, with only minor variation. This suggests that observed patterns are systemic rather than outlet-specific, reflecting broader institutional dynamics within the media system.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec27\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eInferential Analysis: Conditional Spatial Associations\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec28\" class=\"Section4\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eProvince \u0026times; Framing Type\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Taba\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTest\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eValue\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eχ\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.742\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDf\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCram\u0026eacute;r\u0026rsquo;s V\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.178\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert Table here]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe relationship between region and framing type is statistically significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01) but modest in strength (Cram\u0026eacute;r\u0026rsquo;s V\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.178). This indicates that geography is associated with framing patterns, though not strongly deterministic.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec29\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eProvince \u0026times; Actor Type\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"No\" id=\"Tabb\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"2\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTest\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eValue\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eχ\u0026sup2;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e21.615\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDf\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ep-value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCram\u0026eacute;r\u0026rsquo;s V\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.153\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e[Note: Insert Table here]\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA similarly significant but modest association exists between region and actor representation. Institutional dominance persists across regions, with limited variation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTaken together, the results reveal three consistent spatial tendencies. First, a core\u0026ndash;periphery gradient in geographic visibility is evident, with central regions receiving disproportionately greater coverage than peripheral areas. Second, climate reporting is predominantly structured through an event-centered framing approach, where episodic representations are emphasized over broader structural narratives. Third, a centralized institutional voice hierarchy characterizes coverage, with federal actors playing a dominant role in shaping climate discourse. Collectively, these patterns indicate a moderately structured system of environmental visibility in which spatial differentiation emerges through recurring distributions of attention, framing, and sourcing rather than through absolute exclusion.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a theoretical perspective, these findings support the proposed model of spatial production as a communicative process, whereby environmental visibility is unevenly distributed across regions. This uneven distribution reflects patterned tendencies in media representation that contribute to shaping the relative centrality and marginality of regions within national climate discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe findings indicate a consistent but moderate spatial unevenness in climate reporting across Pakistan\u0026rsquo;s English-language press. While central regions receive greater attention, structurally vulnerable areas remain comparatively less visible. Importantly, this pattern reflects differentiated inclusion rather than complete exclusion, as regions are unevenly incorporated into national climate discourse. The modest effect sizes further reinforce that spatial variation exists but is not rigidly deterministic.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec31\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eSpatial Differentiation as Visibility Structuring\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a Lefebvrian perspective, spatial ordering in climate reporting operates through uneven distributions of visibility. Rather than binary inclusion or exclusion, regions occupy different positions within a layered communicative field. Some areas are consistently closer to the center of climate discourse, while others appear intermittently, resulting in a graded structure of attention shaped by institutional routines and editorial practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec32\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eRelational Positioning and Mediated Space\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eDrawing on Massey\u0026rsquo;s relational conception of space, regional visibility can be understood as a function of position within communicative and institutional networks. The dominance of episodic framing reinforces this dynamic, as regions gain prominence primarily during discrete events rather than through sustained representation. Consequently, spatial meaning is not fixed but context-dependent, with peripheral regions more frequently associated with crisis narratives, while central locations are more closely linked to governance and policy discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec33\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eRecognition, Visibility, and Spatial Justice\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings further highlight the role of symbolic recognition in shaping environmental discourse. Regions are not only unevenly represented but also differentially positioned, often as sites of vulnerability, governance, or peripheral risk. From an environmental justice perspective, this reflects unequal symbolic recognition rather than uniform communicative inclusion.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAt the same time, the moderate strength of associations suggests that visibility is best understood as a distributed resource\u0026mdash;unevenly allocated but not monopolized by any single region. Recognition therefore emerges through gradations of visibility, rather than fixed or absolute hierarchies.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec34\" class=\"Section3\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eInstitutional Mediation and Spatial Embeddedness\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe dominance of federal actors indicates that climate discourse is institutionally mediated, with visibility often structured through centralized sources of authority. This reflects broader patterns of governance centralization, where information flows originate in major urban and political centers and extend unevenly toward peripheral regions. As a result, spatial representation is closely tied to institutional voice and access, reinforcing existing communicative asymmetries.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSystemic Convergence Across Newspapers\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe similarity in spatial patterns across Dawn and The News International suggests that these dynamics are systemic rather than outlet-specific. Spatial differentiation in climate reporting appears to be shaped by broader institutional structures within the media system, rather than individual editorial variation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSynthesis: Conditional Spatial Production of Visibility\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTaken together, the findings support a model in which climate visibility emerges through the interaction of geographic attention, framing practices, and institutional sourcing. These processes generate consistent but moderate patterns of spatial differentiation, reinforcing the idea that environmental visibility is structured through recurring communicative practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eImportantly, spatial patterns observed here are not merely descriptive but constitutive of how environmental issues are publicly understood. Media systems do not simply mirror geographic inequality; they participate in its organization by shaping which regions are visible, how they are framed, and whose voices are prioritized. In this sense, spatial differentiation operates as a patterned visibility order, continuously reproduced through media practices.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec37\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eApplied Implications: Decentralizing Climate Visibility\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese findings have important implications for both media systems and environmental governance. The concentration of attention in central regions highlights the need for more geographically balanced climate reporting.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eStrengthening regional journalism capacity is essential, particularly in underrepresented areas such as Balochistan and ex-FATA. Expanding reporting networks and incorporating local correspondents can enhance direct coverage of vulnerable regions. In addition, reducing reliance on metropolitan news hubs may diversify narrative perspectives and improve representational balance.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eLong-term improvement requires institutional investment in regional media infrastructure, ensuring that peripheral regions are not only visible during crises but are consistently represented in climate discourse. More broadly, integrating spatial awareness into editorial decision-making can help align media practices with principles of environmental justice, where visibility itself functions as a dimension of equity and inclusion.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examined how climate-affected regions in Pakistan are constructed within English-language newspaper discourse through measurable patterns of geographic visibility, framing, and actor representation. By integrating quantitative content analysis with spatial theory and media framing approaches, it demonstrates that climate communication functions as a system of representation rather than a neutral reflection of environmental conditions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmpirical results indicate a concentration of visibility in central provinces, alongside comparatively lower representation of peripheral and structurally vulnerable regions. Statistical associations between province, framing type, and actor hierarchy show that geography influences narrative construction, though in moderate and non-deterministic ways. Spatial differentiation in climate reporting therefore emerges as a patterned tendency within elite media discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings further demonstrate that media systems shape how environmental issues are distributed across space through routine practices of selection, sourcing, and framing. These processes influence which regions enter climate narratives and how they are represented, resulting in uneven patterns of visibility across provinces.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTheoretically, the study contributes to climate communication research by foregrounding spatial analysis as a critical dimension of environmental discourse. It shows that framing operates within uneven media geographies, while environmental justice concerns extend beyond material exposure to include symbolic recognition and visibility. Media geography thus provides a valuable framework for understanding how environmental meaning is spatially organized within national discourse.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom a practical perspective, improving geographically balanced reporting requires strengthening regional journalism networks, expanding field-level reporting, and reducing reliance on centralized news flows. Such efforts can enhance not only the quantity of coverage but also the ways in which climate relevance is constructed across regions.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFuture research should examine whether similar spatial patterns persist across broadcast and digital media and explore how multilingual media systems may reshape or reinforce these visibility dynamics.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eOverall, this study demonstrates that spatial inequality in climate communication is not merely reflective, but constitutive of environmental visibility, shaping how climate vulnerability is recognized, prioritized, and understood in public discourse.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eAwrang Khan: Conceptualization; Methodology; Formal analysis; Investigation; Data curation; Writing \u0026ndash; original draft; Writing \u0026ndash; review \u0026amp; editing; Visualization; Supervision.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe author acknowledges the intellectual and moral engagement of Dr. Afra Siyab Khattak, Aurangzaib, and Dr. Adil Zareef, whose continued concern for climate change and commitment to environmental sustainability reflect the broader urgency of addressing climate challenges in contemporary society.Their engagement underscores the importance of recognizing climate change not only as an environmental issue but also as a shared social and ethical responsibility, which resonates with the broader perspective of this research.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data supporting the findings of this study are based on publicly accessible newspaper archives (Dawn and The News International). 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Nationalizing a global phenomenon: A study of how the press in 45 countries and territories portrays climate change. \u003cem\u003eGlobal Environmental Change\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e58\u003c/em\u003e, 101942. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003ehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101942\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2019.101942\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eWorld Bank (2021). \u003cem\u003eClimate risk reports for Pakistan\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Climate change communication, spatial visibility, media geography, environmental justice, framing analysis, Pakistan","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9524235/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9524235/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study examines how climate-affected regions in Pakistan are represented within national English-language newspaper discourse and whether climate communication reproduces uneven patterns of geographic visibility. Drawing on spatial theory, environmental justice, and media framing, the study conceptualizes spatial visibility as a communicative outcome shaped through journalistic selection, framing, and sourcing practices. A quantitative content analysis was conducted of 300 climate-related news articles published in \u003cem\u003eDawn\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe News International\u003c/em\u003e between June 2022 and December 2023. The analysis examined regional visibility, episodic and structural framing, spatial role construction, and actor representation. Findings reveal a graded core\u0026ndash;periphery pattern in which Punjab and Sindh receive greater visibility, while Balochistan and ex-FATA remain comparatively underrepresented despite their climate vulnerability. Coverage is predominantly episodic, with climate-affected regions often represented through disaster-centered narratives rather than sustained structural contexts. Actor analysis further shows the dominance of federal and institutional voices, while local communities remain less visible. Chi-square tests indicate statistically significant but modest associations between region and framing type, and between region and actor representation. The study argues that climate reporting in Pakistan is not spatially neutral; rather, it contributes to a patterned organization of environmental visibility across regions. By operationalizing geographic visibility as a measurable variable, the study contributes to climate communication, media geography, and environmental justice scholarship, with relevance to debates on climate action and representational equity.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Spatial Production of Environmental Inequality: Media Construction of Climate-Affected Regions in Pakistan","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-06 18:54:50","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9524235/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"94a9b918-7a1c-419a-8a4d-126edca39dbd","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 6th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-06T18:54:50+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-06 18:54:50","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9524235","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9524235","identity":"rs-9524235","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}