Space4climate services: Experts call for institutional adaptation
PESHAWAR: Speakers at a regional symposium on ‘Space4Climate-Snow Cover Assessment, Forestry, Air Quality/Environment and Waterways have called for the institutional adaption of Space4Climate services across provincial departments, strengthened collaboration among scientific and government organizations, enhanced capacity building in geospatial technologies, and continued development of operational climate information services to support evidence-based policymaking.
The symposium was hosted under the auspices Pakistan Space & Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO), through its Space Applications Centre for Climate Sciences (SACCS) in a local hotel on Thursday.
The speakers were included Dr Mohammad Farooq (Deputy Director General Space Applications Centre for Climate Sciences (SUPARCO), Aftab Ahmad Khan Lughmani (Secretary SUPARCO) and Talha Hussain Faisal (Senior Secretary Climate Change, Forestry, Environment and Wildlife Department KP).
The symposium marked the first event in SUPARCO’s seven-city National and Provincial Symposium Series under the Space4Climate Initiative and Awareness on Climate Change Impacts, which will be held in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta, Gilgit and Muzaffarabad.
The symposium brought together senior government officials, policymakers, scientists, researchers, development partners, academia, and environmental experts to strengthen collaboration on the application of space technologies for climate resilience and sustainable development.
The symposium served as a strategic platform to showcase Pakistan’s indigenous space-based capabilities for climate monitoring and to promote evidence-based policymaking through satellite-derived climate intelligence.
Participants discussed emerging climate risks facing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the country, including floods, glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs), droughts, heatwaves, deforestation, deteriorating air quality, and changing water resources, while highlighting the critical role of Earth observation technologies in addressing these challenges.
A major highlight of the symposium was the presentation of SUPARCO’s Space4Climate initiative and a live demonstration of the Space4Climate Geospatial Portals, showcasing how satellite-based climate intelligence can support informed decision-making across national and provincial institutions.
The portal integrates data from Pakistan’s satellite assets, including PRSS-1, SAR-1, EO series and hyperspectral capabilities, to provide near real-time information on greenhouse gases, air quality, glaciers, forests, snow cover, waterways, land cover, coastal ecosystems, and other critical environmental indicators.
The technical session featured presentations by experts covering key thematic areas, including climate vulnerability assessment for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, flood hazard mapping using optical and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite data, forest cover change detection and protected area monitoring, glacier and GLOF monitoring, and satellite-based air quality and environmental assessment.
The presentations demonstrated the growing role of indigenous space technologies in delivering operational solutions for climate adaptation, disaster risk reduction, and sustainable resource management.
An interactive panel discussion on ‘Institutionalizing Space-Based Climate Services for Provincial Climate Governance’ highlighted the importance of strengthening inter-agency coordination, expanding access to geospatial information, and mainstreaming satellite-derived climate services into planning, disaster preparedness, natural resource management, and environmental governance.
The Regional Symposium reflects SUPARCO’s continued commitment to harnessing space science and technology for peaceful applications that contribute to national development, climate resilience, environmental sustainability, and Pakistan’s commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026