ISLAMABAD: The National Disaster Management Authority is expected to serve as a “safety wall” against the effects of climate change, according to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s statement on Thursday.
During a visit to the authority’s remodeled National Emergencies Operation Center, Prime Minister Shehbaz stated that Pakistan was now one of the ten most susceptible countries due to climate change, placing it in the red zone.
He claimed it would take years to recover from the $30 billion in losses caused by the floods in 2022. In addition to financing from the provinces and assistance from friendly nations, the federal government alone had spent Rs. 100 billion on the rehabilitation of individuals impacted.
He requested that the NDMA maintain constant communication with all of the provinces, particularly Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.and suggested avoiding redundancy in equipment acquisition through collaboration.
The PM praised NEOC’s founding members for using state-of-the-art technology and the NDMA team to realize the first-ever center of its kind in Pakistan and the region, which demonstrated the nation’s dedication to disaster preparedness and mitigation.
The prime minister received a briefing from NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik regarding the capabilities of the NEOC, which is supported by various satellite feeds, software, and artificial intelligence tools to create a National Common Operating Picture, bolstering digital risk assessment, early warning systems, and Pakistani preparedness plans.The briefing highlighted the NEOC’s ability to forecast weather at both the national and regional levels up to six to ten months ahead of time.
