Flash floods: Early warning system to be installed in GB valleys by June 2022

ISLAMABAD: A project worth $37 million regarding installation of early warning systems in 24 valleys of Gilgit-Baltistan to avoid flash floods, under the Green Climate Fund, would be completed in June 2022.

The climate change ministry said the project was delayed due to some technical reasons, but now all modalities had been sorted out and work was in progress according to the schedule. The outbreak of coronavirus pandemic was one of the main reasons that proved to be stumbling block in initiation of the project that was aimed at protecting the local communities against flash floods due to outburst of glacial lakes. According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), more than 3,000 glacial lakes had formed as of 2018 in northern areas, with 33 of them considered hazardous due to which more than 7 million people living downstream face risk of flash floods.

The locals said that a flash flood occurred in May last year due to outburst in Shishper glacier at Hasanabad in district Hunza. The floodwater carried huge boulders from the melting glacier and destroyed cherry, apricot and walnut orchards. It also damaged many homes and forced the area people to move to makeshift residential arrangements. The melting is likely to pick up over the summer months from June to September after a winter of heavy snowfall. So Pakistan Meteorological Department has installed an automatic weather station to monitor the situation.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Malik Amin Aslam said as global temperatures continue to soar, and glaciers melt at an alarming pace, the urgency of addressing climate change could not be greater, especially for countries such as Pakistan.

“I have visited most of the vulnerable areas and met both direct and indirect beneficiaries, where the project can play a vital role in minimising the risk of flash floods,” he said.