ISLAMABAD: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) has urged Pakistan to urgently step up its disaster risk reduction measures as the country faces increasing exposure to natural hazards.
The call comes as the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) warns of heavy monsoon rains from August 14 to 22, with heightened risks of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), flash floods and landslides in vulnerable areas of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Urban flooding is also feared in parts of the country’s upper regions.
UNOCHA’s latest report warns that Pakistan’s location along tectonic fault lines, coupled with extreme climate variability, leaves it highly prone to earthquakes, floods, droughts and other disasters. Political instability, regional tensions and security challenges further complicate the situation.
The report calls for urgent investment in early warning systems, stronger governance, improved resource management, and greater community resilience. It also stresses that floods remain the most frequent and damaging disaster in Pakistan — the 2022 floods alone affected over 30 million people and caused economic losses equivalent to nearly six per cent of GDP.
Alongside flood threats, the country is grappling with climate change impacts, including rising sea levels, erratic weather patterns, and prolonged droughts in arid zones, which are worsening water scarcity and harming agriculture and livestock.
