KARACHI: The Murree tragedy could have been avoided if early warning about heavy snowfall issued days prior to the disaster in the area was materialised into timely action, said chief meteorologist at an event organised in connection with World Meteorological Day.

This year the day is dedicated to the theme “Early Warning and Early Action”.

“The incident [Murree tragedy] reminded us how important it is to connect all stakeholders and translate early warning into early action,” noted chief meteorologist Dr Sardar Sarfaraz, highlighting the significance of improved multi-hazard early warning systems in preventing and minimising human loss and damage to infrastructure.

It might be recalled that early this year at least 22 people, including 10 children, were frozen to death in their vehicles when a snowstorm hit the hilly station on Jan 8, leaving thousand other tourists stranded on roads. The met office had issued an alert on Jan 5, about the extreme weather that, it said, might result in road closures in several areas.

“The role of local administration, disaster management and relief authorities, and the media is crucial when it comes to early action. And, this subject of concern has assumed greater significance in recent years due to climate change.”

He pointed out that Pakistan had ranked 8th in the list of most vulnerable countries to climate change, and the met department’s data showed that almost the entire country was experiencing a rise in temperature.

Sharing details of the met department’s recent initiatives, Dr Sarfaraz said two latest weather surveillance radars had been installed in Islamabad and Karachi, whereas preparations were underway to put in place two more in Sukkur and Multan.

“These four radars would effectively cover the eastern side of the country by providing timely information about extreme weather events such as storms and torrential rains.”

Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) Director General Sahibzad Khan said the department had also established a YouTube channel and a mobile App, where latest information was available in user-friendly local languages, especially for farmers and tourists.

“Frequency of occurrence of extreme weather events has increased five times [in the world]. As many as 11,000 disasters over the past five decades have been linked to weather, climate and water-related hazards,” he told the audience, while citing a WMO report.

Former PMD director Muhammad Musleh Uddin spoke about the improvement and advances that took place in weather and climate prediction over the years.

Part of the programme was an exhibition at the Institute of Meteorology & Geophysics (IMG), Met Complex, featuring several conventional and modern meteorological, seismological instruments, weather maps, and various astronomical, hydrological and climatological products.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2022