ISLAMABAD: Climate experts have strongly recommended a new policy framework to check melting glaciers in Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, due to climate change, leading to significant risks for both water security and the livelihoods of millions of people.
Khan Faraz among other climate experts disclosed this during an interaction on “melting glaciers in Pakistan” with media at the National Press Club here on Friday.
According to the expert, the climate change is a critical survival issue for Pakistan. Thus there is an urgent need for all stakeholders to join forces through adaptation and mitigation policies across all socio-economic sectors.
Faraz highlighted that the glaciers in Pakistan are crucial to the country’s water supply, with over 60% of our water originating from glacial melt water that feeds the Indus River. However, rising global temperatures are causing these glaciers to shrink at an alarming rate, threatening to destabilize the country’s already stressed water resources. Therefore, the global issue of glacial melting, which affects many regions worldwide, including Pakistan, needs coordinated action to address the global issue of glacial melting.
Another expert said that glaciers in the northern regions of the country play a vital role in water security, economic stability, and climate resilience. Pakistan’s glaciers, particularly in regions like Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral, are vital to the country’s water supply, providing over 60% of the water to the Indus River Basin. However, these glaciers are rapidly melting due to climate change, leading to significant risks for both water security and the livelihoods of millions of people.
World Water Day is observed every year on March 22. This year’s theme of the world water day is Glaciers’ Preservation. This is a particularly pertinent theme considering that an estimated 60 percent of the world’s freshwater originates from mountainous regions and the world’s glaciers, the main source of this mountain water, are steadily retreating as global warming accelerates.
However, Pakistan is grappling with two starkly contrasting realities; increasing flood risk due to climate change, and the rapidly depleting water reserves that threaten the foundation of our development, Khan Faraz maintained.
There is an urgent need to take remedial measures and also the world would come to their senses soon enough, climate experts added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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