Pakistan launches $10 million World Bank–backed project to modernize flood warning network
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has launched a $10 million World Bank–backed project to modernize its early flood warning and weather forecasting network, aimed at strengthening national disaster preparedness and climate resilience, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported on Tuesday.
The announcement comes after one of Pakistan’s deadliest monsoon seasons in years, which has killed at least 1,037 people nationwide and damaged nearly 2.5 million acres of farmland, according to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Torrential rains have repeatedly inundated vast areas of Punjab and Sindh, destroying homes, crops and infrastructure, and underscoring the country’s urgent need for modern forecasting systems.
The new initiative, titled “Modernization of Hydromet Services of Pakistan (MHSP),” is being implemented by the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) under the World Bank–funded Integrated Flood Resilience Adaptation Project (IFRAP). It seeks to strengthen climate resilience by improving the PMD’s capacity to generate, interpret and disseminate accurate hydrometeorological data.
