ACCORDING to media reports, the pace of melting glaciers in Pakistan is faster than in any other country. Thus, rains cannot be held solely responsible for unexpected floods in the country.

According to glaciologists, glaciers are adding fuel to fire and due to their melting, the flood situation is aggravating day by day. Dominant glaciers, which contain a huge quantity of water in frozen form, are melting at a faster pace. The recent decade has experienced exceptional environmental changes throughout the world because of global warming.

Glaciers up to 20,000 feet high have started melting and depleting, thus our frozen water reservoirs are diminishing rapidly. Climate change has not only triggered extreme weather events, but also brought uncertainties in the behaviour of certain weather phenomena.

The country is headed for increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that include frequent floods and droughts. Hence there is a need for making policies to cope with the situation.

Khan Faraz

Peshawar

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2015

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