Islamabad: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved a five-year climate-resilient flood management strategy aimed at strengthening Pakistan’s preparedness for increasingly intense monsoon seasons.
The decision was announced by Federal Minister for Climate Change Musadik Malik following a high-level meeting attended by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Malik said the plan is structured around a three-phase approach focused on repairing, expanding, and rebuilding the country’s flood protection systems.
Under the short-term plan, to be executed within 200–250 days, the government will repair damaged dykes, floodgates, and critical drainage infrastructure ahead of the next monsoon. The prime minister also directed authorities to integrate early warning systems at district and tehsil levels, enabling quicker alerts to vulnerable communities.
The government will additionally prepare temporary schooling arrangements and mobile healthcare units to prevent disruption in education and health services in flood-affected regions.
The medium-term plan, spanning up to three years, will focus on expanding existing drainage channels and improving flood management networks. Meanwhile, the five-year strategy aims to develop climate-resilient infrastructure capable of withstanding extreme weather events linked to a rapidly changing climate.
NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik warned that next year’s monsoon is expected to be 26% more intense, with a continued rise in climate variability through 2026. He stressed the need for early preparation to minimise losses.
The prime minister instructed federal ministries and provincial governments to coordinate closely and also called for convening a meeting of the National Water Council to advance national-level water management planning.
Authorities have been directed to begin immediate implementation of the short-term plan to mitigate risks during the upcoming monsoon season.
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