Climate change threat to intensify by 22pc next year: NDMA chief

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider has warned that the impacts of climate change in Pakistan are severe and could intensify by 22% in the coming year.

Briefing the Public Accounts Committee on the country’s current situation, he said that rising temperatures could eventually lead to the disappearance of glaciers, adding that the year ahead will unfortunately be more challenging.

Lt Gen Inam Haider informed the committee that the current monsoon system will persist until September 10 and that water reservoirs across Pakistan are being closely monitored. In anticipation of possible flooding, around 150,000 people have already been evacuated from the Sutlej River region.

Read Also: Next year's monsoon will be 30pc more intense: Musadik

Speaking about the destruction in Gilgit-Baltistan, he assured that the affected areas will be rebuilt and that 2,100 tons of relief goods have so far been dispatched to different regions.

He stressed that many people are still residing along waterways, highlighting the urgent need to evacuate low-lying areas nationwide. 

Moreover, Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, Dr Musadik Malik has predicted that next year's monsoon will be 30 percent more intense.

Speaking on the "Dunya Podcast," Musadik Malik said that the monsoon will arrive 15 days earlier than usual next year. There will be two to three more monsoon spells than normal, with the season starting early and ending late.