Hydrological imbalances are a disastrous outcome of climate change. Pakistan suffered heavy losses last year through flash floods, which were caused by water cycle imbalance. The rivers and lakes which were already on the runoff due to snow and glacial melting burst when heavy monsoon rains hit the country. Unfortunately, no one was observing and studying these changes closely to issue a warning to disaster management authorities in time. Pre-emptive data collection and monitoring have now become essential for disaster response, in the face of extreme weather events.
In some parts of the world, water cycle imbalances have caused rapid evaporation and in turn, famines and droughts. But in our part of the world, the third pole, the water cycle tends to strike the other extreme, that is river overflows and catastrophic floods. The loss of life and the economic toll from last year’s flooding could be controlled or minimized if we had a procedure in place; a dedicated department keeping an eye on water levels in rivers and lakes. Credible data and predictions based on the same could help us evacuate people from potential areas marked red.
This, unfortunately, did not happen and people in affected areas are still building back their homes. But to avoid repeating the same, we do not have a second to wait. The Meteorological Department must establish monitoring mechanisms by gathering ecological and meteorological expertise from around the country. A round-the-clock monitoring or specific patches of monitoring in times and seasons that are riskier must be devised. Relevant and credible data, then, must be shared with disaster management authorities, both federal and provincial. This data will be useful in making timely predictions of extreme weather events.
Pakistan is vulnerable to climate-related catastrophes. Hence, our coping mechanism must be swift and pre-emptive. Cross-border data sharing to manage water resources is also required. Climate change knows no borders, and collaboration with neighbours is a shared need of all. Just like we suffered losses in flash floods, it was no different for our neighbours, where monsoon rains disrupted life and displaced people. In the face of these new challenges, our reluctance to understand water bodies has inflicted damage upon us. It is high time to lay out a mechanism for monitoring, data gathering, sharing, and making decisions based on data. If hydrological imbalances are the new normal, we must ramp up our response accordingly.