PAKISTAN is confronting a growing climate threat at precisely the moment it has reduced spending on the institutions tasked with managing it. The decision to cut the climate ministry’s PSDP allocation from Rs3.5bn to Rs2.48bn is difficult to justify given the challenges ahead.

Climate risks are increasing and public investment should reflect that reality. Suparco has identified 130 potentially dangerous glacial lakes in Pakistan’s northern regions, with downstream communities exposed to the risk of glacial lake outburst floods. While only 24 of these lakes are currently unfrozen and under observation, the findings show that our glaciers are under increasing stress.

Rising temperatures are accelerating glacial melt in a country that contains one of the largest concentrations of........

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