Pakistan braces for dangerously high temperatures, floods

Pakistani authorities are on alert after a warning of a heatwave coupled with flash floods and glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) was issued for next week.

"Day temperatures are likely to remain 6 to 9 degrees Celsius above normal," Pakistan's Meteorological Department said in a warning issued within a week of a first heatwave, during which a city in southern province of Sindh recorded 49 degrees Celsius.

"High temperatures and excessive monsoon rains are expected this year," Climate Change Minister Sherry Rehman said on Saturday. "Floods and heavy rains can pose a serious threat to people's lives and livelihoods as well as public infrastructure."

The department also warned authorities on Saturday that the high temperatures can enhance the melting rate of snow, thereby triggering GLOF events in the regions of Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The ministry has asked national, provincial and local authorities to take precautionary measures for all possible catastrophic events, the minister said.

Pakistan is responsible for less than 1% of global carbon emissions, but is among the top 10 most climate-vulnerable nations.

Flash floods, land erosion, cloudbursts, droughts and smog resulting in low air quality have been on the rise in Pakistan in recent years.

Climate experts say it is the impact of global warming, but also due to the country's proximity to the highly industrialized nations of China and India.