ISLAMABAD, 28 JULY (DNA) —      Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Professor Ahsan Iqbal on Tuesday urged every district to establish dedicated “green channels” for climate change and flood-related projects to ensure their swift approval and guaranteed funding, stressing the need for stronger institutional preparedness to tackle the growing impacts of climate change.

“We are living right through the eye of climate change,” the minister said, warning that Pakistan must adopt a proactive, whole-of-government approach to minimise the human and economic losses caused by increasingly frequent extreme weather events. The minister was talking to the media during his visit to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) after receiving a detailed briefing on the prevailing flood situation in the country.

He was accompanied by Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain, Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Dr Musadik Malik, Minister for Water Resources Mian Muhammad Mueen Wattoo, Minister for Finance Senator Muhammad Aurangzeb, and Minister for Information and Broadcasting Attaullah Tarar.

Ahsan Iqbal said Pakistan had witnessed devastating floods in 2022 and again in 2025, while this year the country was experiencing extreme temperatures and localized cloudbursts that had triggered flash floods, landslides and urban flooding in different parts of the country.

Describing Pakistan as one of the five countries most vulnerable to climate change despite contributing less than one per cent to global greenhouse gas emissions, he said the government had launched coordinated preparedness measures well before the onset of the monsoon season.

On the directions of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, he said, an inter-ministerial emergency response committee comprising all relevant stakeholders was constituted about two months ago to monitor emerging threats, coordinate with provincial governments and Provincial Disaster Management Authorities (PDMAs), and ensure timely preparedness.

 The committee, which initially met on a weekly basis, is now holding daily meetings to assess the evolving flood situation and further strengthen the national response, he added. Sharing the latest figures, he said 109 people had lost their lives while around 360 others had been injured in weather-related incidents across the country.

He noted that nearly 57 per cent of the fatalities were caused not directly by flooding but by the collapse of houses, walls and other structures, underscoring the urgent need to improve the country’s resilience to climate-related disasters. Although floods and extreme temperatures could not be prevented, effective planning, preparedness and timely response could significantly reduce the loss of human lives, he said.

He said NDMA’s disaster preparedness and response capacity had improved steadily over the years, enabling authorities to carry out timely rescue and relief operations that helped keep casualties comparatively low despite large-scale flooding. The government, he said, was strengthening glacier monitoring systems and, in collaboration with China, promoting climate-resilient agriculture by developing crop varieties capable of withstanding changing climatic conditions.

He said the Ministry of Water Resources was accelerating work on strategic projects, including the Diamer-Bhasha and Mohmand dams, to enhance water storage capacity and reduce flood risks, while also implementing a national flood protection programme in collaboration with the provinces. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting was also ensuring the timely dissemination of public advisories to help minimise losses during emergencies, he added.

Ahsan Iqbal underlined the need to strengthen disaster management institutions at the district level, improve emergency protocols, expedite resource mobilisation, ensure timely approval of funds for relief operations, and empower local governments, saying effective disaster management and public service delivery would remain difficult without strengthening district administrations.

He called for dedicated “green channels” in every district to fast-track climate change and flood-related projects and ensure uninterrupted funding for their timely implementation. — DNA