The 2026 monsoon is expected to bring 22 to 26 percent more rainfall than this year’s, 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, NDMA had repeated the same figure of 22 to 26 per cent.
“There is a significant risk of flooding from snowmelt,” National Disaster Management Authority chairman General Inam Haider warned, noting that heat waves are likely to trigger increased glacial lake outbursts. “Pakistan’s more than 7,000 glaciers are melting at rates that have increased by two to three percent”.
Climate Minister Musadik Malik said that in the past three to four floods, 4,570 people have lost their lives, “Not even our wars have claimed so many lives”.
“The human cost goes far beyond casualties. 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 saw houses built over eight years of labor washed away in hours.
The economic toll has been equally devastating. The 2022 floods alone caused damage exceeding 9 percent of Pakistan’s GDP, with direct losses amounting to 4.5 percent. “We are struggling to grow GDP by three or four percent and nine percent are destroyed by floods,” Malik said, highlighting the futility of development efforts in the face of accelerating climate disasters.
Read: Punjab forms a parliamentary body to lead flood rehabilitation
The minister announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved emergency preparedness plans following projections of an unusually severe monsoon season in 2026, exacerbated by accelerated melting of ice from heat waves.
Over the next 200 days, authorities will repair bridges and floodgates damaged in previous disasters while integrating early warning systems from the district level up to the federal capital.
“The region has one of the best early warning systems,” the NDMA chairman said, explaining that data is received from 370 satellites and 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’s flagship system failed to cover much this year as senators have accused the NDMA of failing to warn the country about the disaster coming in the face of the 2025 monsoon. “Is its job only to collect bodies? If NDMA is responsible for early warnings and weather updates, what is the role of the meteorological department?” demanded senators.
The minister announced that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has approved emergency preparedness plans following projections of an unusually severe monsoon season in 2026, exacerbated by accelerated melting of ice from heat waves.
“Our top priority is to ensure that the first alarm rings in the place where the natural disaster is expected to occur.”
Read more: Floods inflict losses of Rs 3,856 billion
General Inam has said that a comprehensive 300-day plan will be presented to the prime minister, including measures to coordinate tourism in disaster-prone areas with emergency response efforts.
The plan is expected to include the establishment of temporary schools in flood-affected areas and the deployment of mobile hospitals to disaster zones.
The early warning system will be redesigned so that the first alarm rings at the office of the Assistant Commissioner at the district level, enabling faster local response.
