LAHORE: Additional Director General Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), Tariq Masood has said that the meteorological estimates suggest that there would be no abnormal rains during the ongoing monsoon season.
While talking to Business Recorder, he said the current behaviour of the season is consisted of heavy rains for a particular period, followed by an extended no-rain spell.
According to him, climate change has a visible impact on the weather patterns in Pakistan, saying that the El Nino impact could be assessed from the fact that the temperature in Lahore was 34 a day earlier while it was 46 degrees Celsius in Chilas area of Northern Areas. That is why, he said, the process of snowmelt has taken a late start this year, as instead of April to June, snowmelt has started in the month of July. We were expecting no more snowmelting and making assessments that the country would meet its water needs through rainy water. But snow melting has started now water has flowing down from hilly areas to rivers and dams.
When asked about any chance of floods, he ruled out any major possibility, saying that there could be riverine flooding restricted to rivers due to an increased flow of water. There is no threat to the rural areas this year, he added.
Regarding urban flooding due to monsoon rains, he said the PDMA has ensured timely cleaning of sewerage lines besides de-silting of major watercourses. It is now the duty of the people to ensure the cleanliness of their sewerage pipes. Only a good behaviour of the public would save us from a disaster-like situation in the current monsoon season, he emphasized.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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