ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Climate Change Minister Musadik Malik on Thursday discussed the need for a National Resilience Plan 2025-26, aimed at enhancing preparations and mitigating climate-related disasters, ahead of next year’s monsoon season.
Heavy monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan have killed around 1,006 people and injured 1,063 nationwide since Jun. 26. The country’s most populous Punjab province reported massive devastation in late August after heavy rains coupled with water released by dams in India, triggered floods. At least 134 people were killed while over 4.5 million were affected by the deluges, as the provincial Punjab government launched the largest rescue and relief operation in its history to evacuate over 2.6 million people to safer locations.
Malik called on NDMA Chairman Lt. Gen Inam Haider Malik in Islamabad to discuss strategies to reduce losses inflicted by climate-related disasters on humans, infrastructure, crops and livestock via a National Resilience Plan 2025-26, the climate change ministry said.
“The plan aims to enhance preparedness for the upcoming 2026 monsoon season and to mitigate the devastation caused by natural disasters,” the ministry said in a statement.
Malik stressed the importance of creating a “robust mechanism” that delivers tangible results for the most vulnerable communities.
“The Federal Minister further observed that the current disaster response system is fragmented and requires integration into a single, streamlined framework that is quick, coordinated, and effective,” the climate change ministry said.
Malik reaffirmed the government’s commitment to work closely with the NDMA and all stakeholders to ensure a “comprehensive and unified disaster management strategy.”
The NDMA chairman laid emphasis on the need to identify vulnerable regions across Pakistan and assess their exposure to specific risks including floods, cloudbursts, glacial melt, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) and landslides.
Pakistan is among the countries most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Catastrophic floods in 2022 killed nearly 1,700 people, submerged a third of the country at one point, and inflicted over $30 billion in damages, according to government estimates.
The government has stressed the importance of early warning systems and disaster mitigation efforts, as experts warn future monsoon seasons could cause even more destruction across Pakistan.
