A timely initiative

Pakistan is a frontline state when it comes to experiencing the negative effects of climate change. Those effects are going to accelerate and become more extreme over time, and one of the engines of change nationally is the rapid retreat of our glaciers. Pakistan is one of the most glaciated countries in the world outside of the Polar Regions. There are 5,000 glaciers covering 15,000 square kilometres and the rate of glacial melt has increased by about 23 per cent in the last decade according to the Pakistan Meteorological Department. The government has long maintained monitoring stations in the mountain areas, and has now announced that a further $8.5 million is to be spent expanding the network of glacial monitoring stations, a development we warmly welcome.

The geographic area to be covered is vast, taking in the Hindu Kush, the Karakorum and the Himalayas, all of which lie within our borders. The weather is changing quickly, and the effects of change can be gross and catastrophic both locally and nationally — the entire country is ‘downstream’ of any event in the mountains to the north, and every province will be affected no matter that they are thousands of kilometres from the triggering event. As has been experienced in recent years, flooding is a major and recurrent problem, which is only going to get worse. The new investment will enhance our climate resilience and improve the accuracy of flood warnings, which have not always been as timely as they could or should have been in the past. Local communities are already ‘flood aware’ and will now get warnings of between 60 and 90 minutes of flash flooding. This is money well spent. It will save lives in the long run and it is calculated that each $1 spent is equivalent to saving $7 in addressing the aftermath of disasters such as floods. Our lack of disaster preparedness has rightly been criticised in the past, and the entire meteorological system is in need of update and overhaul, including new radars. Climate change touches all our lives, invest now for better futures for everybody.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2016.

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