Hydrological Imbalances.

Hydrological imbalances are a disastrous outcome of climate change. Pakistan suffered heavy losses last year through flash floods, which were caused by water cycle imbalance. The rivers and lakes which were already on the runoff due to snow and glacial melting burst when heavy monsoon rains hit the country. Unfortunately, no one was observing and studying these changes closely to issue a warning to disaster management authorities in time. Pre-emptive data collection and monitoring have now become essential for disaster response, in the face of extreme weather events.

In some parts of the world, water cycle imbalances have caused rapid evaporation and in turn, famines and droughts. But in our part of the world, the third pole, the water cycle tends to strike the other extreme, that is river overflows and catastrophic floods. The loss of life and the economic toll from last year's flooding could be controlled or minimized if we had a procedure in place; a dedicated department keeping an eye on water levels in rivers and lakes. Credible data and predictions based on the same could help us evacuate people from potential areas marked red.

This, unfortunately, did not happen and people in affected areas are still building back their homes. But to avoid repeating the same, we do not have a second to wait. The Meteorological Department must establish...