PM’s office fails to accord timely approval: Pakistan misses meeting of RIMES in Thailand

LAHORE: Pakistan has missed a crucial meeting of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES) in Thailand as the Prime Minister office failed to respond timely against a request for approval from Director General Meteorology to attend the meeting, said sources.

They said the DG Met had booked air ticket and hotel in Thailand to attend the meeting, scheduled for 6-7 February. However, his request for approval from the Caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar remained unattended until the lapse of due date.

RIMES is a Thailand-based forum where all the seven states of SAARC region, besides Afghanistan and Myanmar, have collaborated with each other to share knowledge, resources and strategies to forestall impending adverse effects of climate change through impact-based forecasting to avoid human and material loss in the region out of climate change phenomenon.

Three main areas are being targeted including heavy rains/floods, heat wave and thunderstorm/lightening. The member states have agreed to improve data sharing on these three counts besides imparting training to the weather forecasters. The training would focus on the areas like vulnerability, exposure and risk assessment out of three phenomenon.

Pakistan has recently imparted training on flash flood to Afghan officials in their country and a delegation from Afghanistan is ready to visit Islamabad ahead of summer season to enhance collaboration further. Pakistan has agreed to share the facility of Institute of Meteorology and Geo-Physics Karachi to impart training to the regional forecasters from Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives.

The sources said the World Meteorological Organization had agreed to fund the training programme the courses schedule will be shared with the regional bodies in the meeting held in the month of February.

Some leading climate experts, when contacted by the Business Recorder, requested anonymity and deplored a lack of priority on the part of PM office towards a highly crucial issue for Pakistan.

They said recent rains in Balochistan and upper parts of the country have resulted into 40 casualties and the newly-elected PM Shehbaz Sharif has made an emergency visit to the area to dole out relief package among affectees.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024