THE Met Office’s latest high-priority alert for glacial lake outburst floods in Gilgit-Baltistan ought to jolt the authorities into action. Rising temperatures, well above normal, are accelerating glacier melt, threatening sudden deluges in valleys including Darkut, Hisper, Hopar, Ghundus and Gulkin. For GB’s residents, this is more than a forecast: it is a frightening prospect of yet more loss. In recent weeks, a glacier burst in Ghizer district displaced over 3,000 people, destroyed more than 200 houses, and severed critical road links. Entire villages had to flee, saved only by the quick thinking of a shepherd who raised the alarm in time. In Danyor, seven volunteers were buried alive while repairing water channels damaged by earlier floods. Such events have shown that when disaster strikes, ordinary citizens are the first responders, while the state arrives late, if at all. Pakistan has not lacked resources or projects. Donor-backed initiatives such as Glof-II promised early warning systems, resilient infrastructure and community preparedness. Yet, the same mistakes are made every year. Relief is delayed, coordination between agencies is weak, roads and bridges are rebuilt only to collapse with the next flood and local knowledge is sidelined. After each tragedy, officials offer condolences and compensation cheques, but lasting preparedness remains elusive.

This time must be different. Authorities in GB cannot wait for rivers to burst their banks before acting. Evacuation plans should be in place, safe shelters identified and relief supplies stockpiled. Search-and-rescue teams must also be pre-deployed in vulnerable valleys, ready to move immediately rather than hours later. Communities must be kept informed with timely, clear warnings, not vague advisories. Volunteers need proper training and protective equipment, not reliance on their bravery alone. Infrastructure must be reinforced, not patched up with stopgap fixes. Above all, accountability is essential: funds earmarked for disaster management must be transparently audited and publicly disclosed, so citizens can see whether promises are matched by actual delivery. GB’s glaciers will continue to melt given our ever-warming climate. But while Glofs are inevitable, repeated human failures are not. The people of GB deserve more than sympathy after the fact; they deserve a government that takes their peril seriously. If this warning too is allowed to pass without action, it will not be nature alone that is to blame for the devastation to come.

Published in Dawn, September 2nd, 2025