The 2026 monsoon is expected to bring 22 to 26 percent more rain than this year, the NDMA said, preceded by a short winter and intense summer.
However, this is not new news. At a Public Accounts Committee meeting in August, the NDMA repeated the same figure of 22 to 26 percent.
“There is a significant risk of flooding due to melting ice,” warned National Disaster Management Authority Chairman General Inam Haider, noting that heat waves will likely lead to increased flooding of glacial lakes. “Pakistan’s more than 7,000 glaciers are melting at a rate that has increased by two to three percent.”
The Minister of Climate Change, Musadik Malik, stated that in the last three or four floods 4,570 people have lost their lives: “Not even our wars have claimed so many lives.”
“The human cost goes far beyond the victims. An estimated 40 million people have been displaced by the last four major floods, including 20 million children and 20 million mothers,” Malik said, describing families who watched as homes built during eight years of work were swept away in hours.
The economic cost has been equally devastating. The 2022 floods alone caused damage exceeding 9 percent of Pakistan’s GDP, with direct losses accounting for 4.5 percent. “We struggle to grow GDP by three or four percent, and nine percent is destroyed by floods,” Malik said, highlighting the futility of development efforts in the face of accelerating climate disasters.
Read: Punjab forms parliamentary body to lead flood rehabilitation
The minister announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved emergency preparedness plans following projections of an exceptionally severe monsoon season in 2026, compounded by accelerated melting of glaciers due to heat waves.
Over the next 200 days, authorities will repair bridges and gates damaged in previous disasters and integrate early warning systems from the district level to the federal capital.
“The region has one of the best early warning systems,” said the NDMA president, explaining that data is received from 370 satellites and local communities have been trained on how to respond to natural disasters. “Our system is integrated with the world’s leading early weather intelligence systems,” he added.
However, the NDMA mainframe failed to cover much ground this year as senators accused the NDMA of failing to warn the country of the looming disaster ahead of the 2025 monsoon. “Is your job just to pick up dead bodies? If the NDMA is responsible for early warnings and weather updates, what is the role of the weather department?” the senators demanded.
The minister announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved emergency preparedness plans following projections of an exceptionally severe monsoon season in 2026, compounded by accelerated melting of glaciers due to heat waves.
“Our top priority is to ensure that the initial alert is sounded at the location where the natural disaster is expected to occur.”
Read more: Floods cause losses worth Rs 3,856 crore
General Inam has said a comprehensive 300-day plan will be presented to the prime minister, which will include measures to coordinate tourism in disaster-prone areas with emergency preparedness efforts.
The plan is expected to include establishing temporary schools in flood-affected areas and deploying mobile hospitals in disaster zones.
The early warning system will be redesigned so that the first alarm sounds at the deputy commissioner’s office at the district level, allowing for faster local response.
