Upcoming monsoon rains could cause ‘catastrophic’ floods in Pakistan, says PM’s climate change adviser
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister’s Climate Change Coordinator Romina Khurshid Alam said on Friday that upcoming monsoon rains could cause “devastating” floods in the country and urged authorities to ensure people in vulnerable areas have access to relief camps.
The head of Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) issued a similar warning on Wednesday, saying the country’s Sindh and Punjab provinces could face an “emergency situation” during the upcoming monsoon season.
Pakistan’s monsoon season usually lasts from July to September. In 2022, large swathes of the South Asian country were submerged by extremely heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers, a phenomenon linked to climate change, which damaged crops and infrastructure and killed at least 1,700 people. Floods forced millions to flee and caused billions of dollars in losses.
“Prime Minister’s Coordination Officer on Climate Change and Environment Romina Khurshid Alam on Friday stressed that the upcoming monsoon rains could trigger devastating floods,” Pakistan News Agency (APP) reported.
Chairing a meeting of the government’s task force on global warming and heat waves, Alam called for greater publicity for relief camps in vulnerable areas and for people to access them.
Last month, many parts of the country were hit by extreme heat waves that experts say are the result of climate change. Alam stressed the “urgent need” to protect against the serious threat that heat and floods pose to food, health and the economy.
“The danger cannot be stopped, but it can be managed,” she was quoted as telling state media.
Alam directed officials to address the issue of forest felling and dumping of trees into nullahs, saying bridges could be damaged during floods, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Azad Kashmir.
The chief minister’s aides were informed that most of the flood prevention measures like setting up relief camps, mapping of resources, desilting of nullahs and public awareness campaigns have already been taken.
Meanwhile, the Punjab Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said the provincial authorities are immediately engaged in cleaning and desilting of nullahs to meet any pre-monsoon eventuality.
PDMA Punjab Director General Irfan Ali Katia said authorities have warned of possible urban flooding in the cities of Lahore, Sialkot, Gujranwala, Narowal and Rawalpindi and accordingly alerts have been issued to the civil administrations of these cities.
“In case of rain, we need to ensure immediate drainage in all cities. Early measures need to be taken in places where there is a risk of flooding,” he was quoted as saying by APP.
