Glacial melt in Indus River basin rising at dangerous rate: NDMA head

ISLAMABAD: National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik on Wednesday said glacial melt in the Indus River basin was accelerating at a dangerous rate, pointing out the alarming impact of warming on the cryosphere.

He was speaking at the three-day policy action dialogue titled, ‘Tackling Climate Change Impacts on Cryosphere, Water, Food Security and Disaster Risk Reduction’ organised by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and the Civil Society Coalition for Climate Change (CSCCC), says a press release.

Lt Gen Malik cited a 23.3pc decrease in snow cover between November 2023 and April 2024 and an annual glacial melt rate of 3pc with an additional 16pc mass loss over the past five years.

He warned that while melting might provide temporary water surpluses, the long-term implications were dire and required urgent attention. He stressed on the need for a regional approach to address the cryospheric crisis.

Coordinator to the Prime Minister on Climate Change Romina Khurshid Alam highlighted the importance of Indus River, which supplied freshwater to the people of Pakistan, saying it was under severe stress due to rising temperatures.

She pointed to the government’s efforts, including the Living Indus Project, Recharge Pakistan and GLOF-II, which aimed to address water scarcity and the growing risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).

She said climate change knew no borders, stressing on the need for cross-sector coordination, investment in sustainable practices and community-based adaptation to build resilience.

Director General of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) Dr Pema Gyamtsho said with 7,253 glaciers – which is the highest number outside polar regions – Pakistan remained vulnerable to both floods and droughts.

“We must improve access to climate data for at-risk communities,” he said, adding that although technologies exist, scaling them effectively remained a challenge.

He stressed that disaster risk reduction should focus beyond preparedness and prevention, urging investment in planning and implementation.

CSCCC Chief Executive Aisha Khan underscored the ecological significance of mountains and the inter-connectedness between upstream and downstream communities. She called for an “all-of-government and all-of-society” approach to climate change adaptation, emphasising the need for a shift from merely identifying gaps to real time implementation.

Strategic Group Lead at ICIMOD Dr Arun Bakhta Shrestha elaborated on the future of water availability in the HKH region, noting that glaciers in the region could lose between 30-75pc of their ice volume by the end of the century, depending on the pace of global warming.

“The Indus River Basin, with the highest Water Tower Index (WTI) in the world, is the most vulnerable,” he said, adding that “as ice melt begins earlier, it will impact spring and autumn flows, exacerbating water scarcity for communities reliant on glacial melt water for agriculture”.

Dr Shrestha stressed that innovation, implementation and financing were essential to address the looming water crisis related to cryosphere.

Acting climate change secretary Aisha Humera Chaudhry emphasised on the need for making the cryosphere an integral part of the climate discourse in Pakistan.

Chairman of the Federal Flood Commission Ahmed Kamal and Joint Secretary of the Ministry of National Food Security and Research Neelofur Hafeez highlighted the importance of inter-agency cooperation to tackle the multifaceted challenges of climate change.

The first day of the dialogue provided an in-depth overview of climate change impacts on Pakistan’s cryosphere, disaster management and agriculture.

The initial session, chaired by Chief Executive of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority of Nepal Anil Pokhrel featured presentations on cryosphere risks and disaster management from the Pakistan Meteorological Department, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA) of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, the Gilgit-Baltistan Disaster Management Authority (GBDMA) and the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) of Balochistan.

The second session, presided over by Chairman of the National Seed Development and Regulation Authority Dr Asif Ali focused on water availability and agricultural challenges.

Presentations were delivered by experts from the Global Climate-Change Impact Studies Centre, the Punjab Irrigation Department, the Sindh Irrigation (PCRWR), the Soil and Water Conservation Directorate of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Water Management and Irrigation Department of Gilgit-Baltistan, highlighting the urgent need to address water management and food security in the face of climate stressors.

Published in Dawn, September 12th, 2024