Extra heavy monsoon in the country this year
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ISLAMABAD: (APP) Director General of Pakistan Metrological Department Dr. Gulam Rasool Saturday predicted the country would experience extra heavy monsoon rains this year.
Talking to a private news channel, he said four zones of the country including the upper parts of Khyber Pakhunkhawa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, south eastern areas of Punjab and Sindh, and Koh Suleman areas from Mianwali to Rajinpur would be badly affected by flash floods.
He said Pakistan was among the ten most vulnerable countries to climate change. But it lacked proper 'climate resilient infrastructure' to mitigate the effects of that vulnerability.
The government would have to build better infrastructure to protect the people and their properties from the resultant natural disasters such as flasfloods and river floods, he said.
He said he had already written to all the governors, chief ministers and chief secretaries informing about the expected heavy rains.
He said the PMD was in touch with the National Disaster Mangement Authority and other departments and it would be able to face the challenge despite lack of resources, he added.
He said seven radars were functioning in the country to predict weather conditions. Two of them were being replaced with the financial assistance of Japan, while the rest, though old, were properly working, he added.
He said a new radar had a price of around Rs 700 million.
Dr Ghulam Rasool said the World Meterological Organization had a slogan that "invest one dollar on early warning system and save 36 dollars".
He said the Pakistan Meteorological Department had no funds for the maintenance of the radars. However, now notice had been taken at the high government level, he said and hoped that in next two years, a considerable improvement would be seen in the PMD.
