Melting Glaciers: The Ticking Time Bombs in Gilgit-Baltistan
By Nosheen Jahan
The alarming rate of glaciers melting in Gilgit-Baltistan has reached a critical point, posing a significant threat to the region’s ecosystem and inhabitants. The ticking time bomb of climate change is starting to burst, and the consequences are devastating. Rising temperatures are causing glaciers to melt rapidly, leading to flash floods, landslides, and other climate-related disasters. The region’s critical infrastructure, including homes, bridges, and roads, is at risk of being destroyed, displacing thousands of people. The melting glaciers also threaten the water supply, agriculture, and biodiversity.
The melting glaciers in Gilgit Baltistan have been a longstanding concern, and the recent disaster in Burgay Nallah is a stark reminder of the consequences of climate change and the urgent need for action. The government of Gilgit-Baltistan has a critical responsibility to take proactive measures for climate change mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk management. The urgency to address disaster risk management in GB is a pressing trust placed upon the government, as the region is increasingly vulnerable to climate-related disasters, such as flash floods, landslides, and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). The recent damages due to the outburst of floods from Burgay Nallah highlight the Skardu Administration’s complete failure to ensure earlier warnings to alert communities at risk. The GB government is not taking climate change seriously, and there are no appropriate actions to reduce disaster risks.
In Skardu, there are larger populations living in disaster-prone areas, including Hargisa, Shigari Kalan, Shigari Bala, Rigayool, and many more. These areas have suffered greatly, with homes and crops destroyed multiple times by flash floods, yet residents continue to rebuild the same in vulnerable areas. The buying and selling of property in disaster-prone areas continues unabated, with people constructing homes in water passages, despite the Skardu administration’s knowledge of these activities. The administration’s inaction is alarming, as flash floods have rapidly occurred in areas like Shigari Kalan, and Shigari Bala Nallah, destroying crops and homes built in the way of water. Instead of relocating, people have chosen to reconstruct their homes in the same vulnerable locations, despite knowing the risk of flash floods. This cycle of destruction and reconstruction has repeated itself multiple times, with people wasting their money and time on homes that are likely to be destroyed again.
The GB government must take immediate action to stop the buying and selling of properties in disaster-risk areas, halt the reconstruction of homes located in water passages, and relocate the population living in disaster-prone areas to safer zones. This is crucial to save lives and further damage to the property. The government must strictly enforce disaster risk reduction, halting the sale, purchase, and construction of homes in high-risk areas. Additionally, the government of Gilgit Baltistan should leverage its potential to secure funding from the federal budget, particularly from the federal “Green budget” for climate change and disaster risk management in the fiscal year 2024-2025. As a climate-sensitive region, Gilgit Baltistan should be a top priority for the federal government, considering the region’s vulnerability to climate-related disasters and its contribution to the country’s economy and ecosystem. Hence the fiscal allocations for climate change and disaster risk management in climate-sensitive areas, offer a glimmer of hope. GB government must utilize this opportunity to implement sustainable development initiatives, enhance climate resilience infrastructure, and disaster risk reduction measures, and protect the livelihoods of its people.
The time for complacency has long passed; the GB government must act now to enforce strict regulations on climate change and high-risk areas and secure funds for climate resilience. The sustainable future of Gilgit Baltistan depends on the decisions made today to protect its people and natural resources.
