NDMA Monsoon Warning: Floods Threaten Food Supply

NDMA – (Web Desk) – Pakistan’s disaster management body has issued an urgent NDMA monsoon warning, cautioning that this year’s rains could put the country’s food supply at serious risk.

The warning came after a newly formed emergency committee met for the first time this week to review how ready the country is for the monsoon season, which usually runs from June through September.

Every year, these rains bring flash floods, landslides, and collapsed homes, especially in the north’s mountains and along low-lying riverbanks.

Officials said the rains that began on June 26 have already killed 17 people and injured 41 others. Weather experts are now warning of another heavy spell next week that could push river levels higher across much of the country.

The National Disaster Management Authority said the situation goes beyond flooding alone. In its statement, the agency pointed to a mix of problems building up at once, all needing a coordinated national response.

Shrinking glaciers, longer droughts, and a drier monsoon in many parts of the country could put heavy pressure on farming, the NDMA said. That pressure, officials warned, could turn into a serious food security problem.

Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal has now asked the food security ministry to team up with national emergency planners to map out risks stretching all the way through 2027.

The committee also agreed to bring in top officials from all four provinces to help federal and provincial teams work together more closely during the crisis.

Pakistan remains one of the countries hit hardest by climate change, even though it produces less than one percent of the world’s greenhouse gases. Floods in 2022 killed over 1,700 people and caused more than $30 billion in losses.

Just last year, floodwater released from India into Pakistani rivers damaged large areas of farmland in Punjab, hurting the wheat harvest in what is often called the country’s breadbasket.