ISLAMABAD: Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday stressed that climate-induced disasters must be elevated to a “political” priority as he outlined the government’s long- and short-term strategy to reduce losses and prepare for next year’s monsoon season.
Monsoon rains, which fall from June to September, are vital for replenishing water resources but increasingly trigger destructive floods, landslides, and mass displacement — particularly in low-lying or densely populated areas. According to Punjab’s disaster management authority, this year’s floods have affected at least 4.7 million people across 4,700 villages.
Speaking at a joint press conference with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, the minister said the 2022 floods alone caused economic losses surpassing 9 per cent of Pakistan’s GDP.
“Since 2010, we have faced four to five major floods. The damage from the most recent one is still being assessed,” Dr Malik said. “[Over 4,500] people have died in these floods. This many people don’t die in wars.”
He lamented that Pakistan’s political discourse fails to reflect the suffering of those most vulnerable to extreme weather, adding that climate exposure should become the central issue around which national politics revolves.
Dr Malik said the prime minister, during a detailed briefing earlier in the day, reviewed assessments of riverine flooding, mountain torrents, urban flooding, coastal hazards and glacial lake outburst floods.
He said the government, he added, will adopt a three-tiered approach including a 240–250 day “fix what is broken” phase, focused on repairing damaged dykes and floodgates; A one-to-three year expansion phase to upgrade undersized infrastructure, including Karachi’s drainage system; and a three-to-five year resilience programme to build long-term, durable systems.
He said the prime minister has also instructed authorities to integrate early warning systems at the tehsil and district levels so alerts are issued locally rather than from Islamabad.
Short-term measures will include temporary schooling for displaced children, mobile healthcare units for injured survivors, and community-level training programmes in high-risk districts.
NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik noted that Pakistan remains among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations. Forecasts indicate that the 2026 monsoon could bring 22pc to 26pc more intense weather compared to this year, he added.
“Disaster management is a devolved subject, but provinces and the federation must work together to reduce losses,” he said, adding that tourism and public movement would likely be restricted in June and July to minimise risks.
