Govt calls for integration of climate, glacier monitoring systems

September 22, 2026 (MLN): The government has called for integration of national institutions dealing with climate, glacier monitoring, early warning systems, satellite data and disaster management to ensure timely availability and effective use of climate-related data, with officials stressing the need for a coordinated mechanism through which relevant departments could automatically share data rather than waiting for formal requests from one another.

Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Musadik Malik made these remarks while addressing a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Coordination, chaired by Senator Sherry Rehman, said a press release issued.

Dr Malik said the Prime Minister had constituted a committee under the Ministry of Defence to bring relevant departments and institutions onto a common platform, adding that a virtual platform had already been developed as part of efforts to integrate the available information.

He said glacier and water systems were dealt with by the Ministry of Water Resources, while WAPDA was responsible for devices monitoring snowfall and glacier melt.

Early warning systems fall under the Ministry of Defence, satellite data is handled by SUPARCO, while disaster-related matters are dealt with by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), and these systems needed to be brought together so the country could receive integrated and timely data.

The minister said the government was also working towards establishing a new authority to deal with civilian weather-related matters, which would also serve as the ministry's think tank, with proposals in this regard to be finalised and presented before the federal cabinet shortly.

Discussing glacier-related risks, Dr Malik said glacier melt and flooding were two different phenomena requiring different responses, noting that dams can help control floods, but glaciers cannot be stopped, and that glacier-related disasters could involve the movement of land and terrain and were therefore not simply a matter of water flow.

He said the government was exploring the use of digital twinning for better understanding and modelling of climate and glacier-related risks and stressed the need for establishing a digital laboratory.

Officials informed the committee that there were 115 potentially dangerous glacial lakes, of which 105 had unfrozen as of August 5, adding that reliable data on the rate of glacier melt in Pakistan remained limited because glacier monitoring was an expensive exercise.

The committee was informed that the rate of glacier area loss in the Karakoram Highway region had increased from 3.2% in the 1990s to 4.9% during 2010–2020, while Karakoram glaciers had declined by around 12% between 1990 and 2020.

Dr Malik said glaciers were disappearing across the region at an estimated rate of around 9%.

The minister said data from areas where conventional monitoring was difficult was increasingly being obtained through satellite systems, while towers had also been installed at locations where data was previously unavailable.

On the Green Pakistan Programme, he said the ministry primarily played the role of a facilitator.

The meeting also discussed deforestation and timber smuggling, with Senator Sherry Rehman expressing concern over alleged large-scale timber cutting and laundering, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and calling for an audit of timber-related activity over the past 15 years.

The committee also discussed the use of plastic covers on books, with Senator Rehman questioning claims by bookshops that biodegradable plastic was being used and suggesting that schools and universities promote brown paper covers as an environmentally friendly alternative.

The meeting was attended by members of the Senate Standing Committee, officials of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination and representatives of relevant departments.

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