Islamabad: Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has issued its seventh Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) alert of the 2025 monsoon season, warning of heightened risks in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as fresh rains are expected from August 23 onwards.
Officials confirmed that at least four GLOF incidents have already occurred this season in vulnerable valleys of the two mountainous regions, triggering flash floods, damaging infrastructure, and displacing local populations.
The latest PMD advisory, issued on August 22, cautioned that scattered rains and thunderstorms with isolated heavy falls are likely in glaciated areas of GB and KP. These weather conditions, it noted, could destabilize already swollen glacial lakes and trigger sudden outbursts, flash floods, and landslides. Local administrations, NDMA, and provincial disaster authorities have been directed to remain on high alert and take precautionary measures.
According to officials, four confirmed GLOF events have so far struck vulnerable valleys in Chitral (KP), Hunza, Ghizer, and Skardu (GB) since the start of the season. While no major loss of life has been reported, these incidents destroyed homes, cut off road links, and damaged standing crops.
In Upper Chitral, a glacial lake burst earlier this month swept away irrigation channels and disrupted electricity supply to hundreds of households. Similarly, in Gilgit-Baltistan, communities in Ghizer and Skardu were temporarily displaced after sudden floods damaged small hydropower projects and access roads.
Experts warn that climate change is accelerating glacier melt in Pakistan’s northern areas, increasing both the frequency and intensity of such hazards. According to the Ministry of Climate Change, over 3,000 glacial lakes have formed in Gilgit-Baltistan and KP, of which around 33 are considered highly dangerous. Pakistan is counted among the world’s most vulnerable countries to GLOF events, with hundreds of thousands of people at risk.
The Pakistan GLOF-II Project, implemented with UNDP support, has been working with local authorities to strengthen early warning systems, community preparedness, and climate-resilient infrastructure. Officials said community-based response teams had successfully evacuated families ahead of two recent GLOF events in Hunza and Skardu, minimizing casualties.
With the monsoon season entering its most volatile phase, authorities fear that the risk remains elevated until late September. NDMA has advised residents in at-risk valleys to stay away from riverbanks and glacial lakes, and to cooperate with local administration in case of evacuation orders.
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