Former Chairperson of the Federal Flood Commission (FFC) Ahmed Kamal, while stressing the importance of improved monitoring, has called for province-specific forecasting systems and a nationwide telemetry network to provide real-time data and early warnings tailored to diverse regional contexts.
He was addressing participants of a dialogue on “Climate risk to resilience: strengthening governance for disaster preparedness” hosted here by Institute of Regional Studies (IRS). Kamal noted that the country faced 29 major floods since 1955 with the 2010 floods termed as “super flood” that affected 20 million people. He also observed a troubling shift in the frequency and intensity of floods ranging from riverine floods to urban flooding. He remarked on the necessity of both structural interventions and robust governance measures, including enacting provincial river acts, utilising floodplain maps and replicating successful urban early warning systems. He advocated for strengthening the FFC into a dedicated national authority, increasing funding for emergent flood programmes and launching large-scale forestation in river catchment areas to mitigate climate impacts and reduce flood intensity.
The former FFC emphasised a smooth coordination among federal and provincial institutions and a strong local government system for disaster preparedness. Dr Syed Faisal Saeed, Chief Meteorologist, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD), explained the impact of intensifying monsoon trends and rising temperatures, particularly in Gilgit-Baltistan, which witnessed a mean temperature rise of 6°C this year. He cautioned that these changes are accelerating glacial melt and increasing the risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
He indicated that the cloudbursts being attributed as cause of recent floods is inaccurate and that only one incident of cloud burst occurred in the country. While mentioning the well-established weather forecasting system of PMD, he admitted the limitation of weather stations in glacial region due to inaccessibility and immense financial requirements. Highlighting the unpredictability of precipitation amid climate change, he pointed to critical technological and institutional gaps for disaster preparedness.
Dr Muhammad Irfan Khan, an environmental expert affiliated with UNDP, UNEP and FAO, discussed the “missing link” of environmental governance in urban disaster preparedness. He identified overlapping institutional mandates, weak enforcement of building and zoning laws, outdated master plans and the lack of integration of disaster risk reduction into urban development as major governance failures. He highlighted violations of environmental regulations for urban planning which is the root cause of consequent environmental consequences including urban flooding.
Published in The News on August 28, 2025.
