Skip to main content

Climate-induced disasters must be treated as a political priority: Musadik Malik

Minister for Climate Change Dr Musadik Malik on Wednesday said climate-induced disasters must be treated as a “political” priority as he detailed the long- and short-term strategies to mitigate losses and plan for the next year’s monsoon season.

Monsoon rains fall across the region from June to September, offering respite from the summer heat and are crucial to replenish water supplies. However, heavy downpours also trigger deadly floods, landslides and displacement, particularly in vulnerable, poorly drained, or densely populated areas.

Data from Punjab’s disaster management authority shows this year’s floods affected at least 4.7 million people across 4,700 villages.

Speaking at a press conference with National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik in Islamabad today, the climate change minister stated that “climate-induced disasters must be treated as a political priority,” noting that the 2022 floods alone caused losses exceeding 9 per cent of the GDP.

“Since 2010, there have been four to five floods. The most recent one, which has passed, its [damage] is still being assessed,” Dr Malik pointed out. “[Over 4,500] people have died in these floods. This many people don’t die in wars.”

He said the country’s political discourse ignores those most affected by extreme weather, describing climate vulnerability as the “core” around which national politics should revolve.

He said the prime minister chaired a detailed meeting earlier in the day where and was presented with assessments of riverine flooding, mountain torrents, urban flooding, coastal risks and glacial lake outburst floods.

According to Dr Malik, the government will ensure a three-tier approach: a 240 to 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 such as Karachi’s drainage; and a three-to-five-year programme to build resilient systems.

The minister said the prime minister has also directed the integration of early warning systems at the tehsil and district levels, shifting alerts away from Islamabad so that local administrations receive the initial alarms.

Temporary schooling for displaced children, mobile healthcare units for injured survivors, and community-level training in vulnerable districts are also part of the short-term plan.

The NDMA chairman highlighted that Pakistan remains among the world’s most climate-affected countries. He said NDMA’s forecast indicates that the 2026 monsoon could bring 22pc to 26pc more intense weather compared to this year.

“Disaster management is a devolved subject, but provinces and the federation have to work together [to combat losses],” he said, adding that tourism and movement would be controlled in June and July to mitigate damage.



from Dawn - Home https://ift.tt/hgqv79i
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Ministers rubbish notion that proposed retirement age extension to favour ‘one particular institution’

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar on Tuesday rubbished the notion that a proposed extension in the retirement age was to favour “one particular institution”, adding that the move would be implemented across the board if approved. The rebuttal comes in the wake of media reports claiming that the government was mulling changes to the Constitution to fix the tenure of the chief justice . Currently, judges of the Supreme Court, including the chief justice, retire after attaining the age of superannuation, i.e. 65 years, as stipulated in Article 179 of the Constitution. While giving his opinion recently on the reports of the constitutional amendment, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar had said he “will not vehemently turn down the proposals related to the tenure of the chief justice”. Addressing the issue during a press conference in Islamabad today along since Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and the law minister, Attaullah said the extension in the retirement age was “a proposal to a...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Republican primary race for president in 2024

The Republican primary race for president in 2024 is already shaping up to be a competitive one. There are a number of high-profile candidates who have already announced their intention to run, and more are expected to join the field in the coming months. The frontrunner for the nomination is former President Donald Trump. Trump has been teasing a 2024 run for months, and he has a large and loyal following among Republican voters. However, he is also a polarizing figure, and his candidacy could alienate some moderate Republicans. Another potential contender for the nomination is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis has been praised by many conservatives for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his opposition to vaccine mandates. He is also seen as a rising star in the Republican Party. Other potential candidates include former Vice President Mike Pence, former Ambassador Nikki Haley, and Senator Tim Scott. Pence is a more traditional Republican who could appeal to moderate vote...
1 comment
Read more

In pictures: Grief in Gaza and the loss of a child

In the photo, the woman cradles a child in her arms, balanced on her knee. It is an image that resonates, as ancient as human history. But in a grim inversion of the familiar, we see that the child she holds close is a corpse, wrapped in a shroud. It is a quiet moment of intense grief. The woman wears a headscarf and her head is bowed. We cannot see who she is nor can we learn anything about the child — not even if it is a boy or girl. Palestinian woman Inas Abu Maamar, 36, embraces the body of her 5-year-old niece Saly, who was killed in an Israeli strike, at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, October 17, 2023. The child is one of many who have lost their lives on both sides in the Israel-Hamas war. Most have names we will never know, whose deaths will spark a lifetime of grief for family members we will never meet. In the 21st century, an average of almost 20 children a day have been killed or maimed in wars around the world, according to Unicef. Reuter...
Post a Comment
Read more