Melting glaciers likely to trigger flash floods

The Meteorological Department issued an alert for a potential increase in the flow of water in rivers due to the melting of glaciers.

The department is predicting an abnormal rise of 5 to 7 degrees celsius in the temperature in the next four to five days in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

A Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) spokesperson said there is also a risk of ‘Glacial Lake Outburst Flood’ (GLOF) event, in other words, a flash flood, owing to the increase in melting rate of ice because of the heatwave.

People residing near waterways and rivers should be cautious and all the agencies concerned have also been directed to remain alert in order to deal with the emergency situation, he added. PDMA's emergency operations centre is fully operational and the public can report any untoward incident to the helpline 1700, he said.

The current year is likely to be hotter than other years, mainly due to less snowfall in the mountains this year and the melting of snow on the mountains due to the heat.

The department predicted mainly hot and dry weather in most parts of the province and rain and thunderstorm in isolated places of Abbottabad, Mansehra, Battagram, Kohistan, Torghar during the last 24 hours.

Regional Met Office Peshawar has informed that high pressure in the upper atmosphere level may cause temperature increase in most parts of the province from 26 April to May 2.

Heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in isolated places while the temperature in the daytime is also expected to rise 5 to 7 degree above normal in plain areas of the province. A fresh western weather system may give light and moderate rainfall accompanied by thunderstorms and lightning over isolated places of the upper parts of the province from Thursday to Saturday (tomorrow).

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2022.