ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed Pakistan’s climate change ministry to generate funds for a climate-resilient infrastructure, as the death toll from torrential monsoon rains across the country since late June surge to 300.

Sharif arrived in Pakistan’s northern Gilgit city on Monday to review the flood situation in the region and damages caused during the monsoon season, his office said. The prime minister chaired a high-level meeting attended by senior officials and ministers of the government to take stock of the flood situation there. 

Pakistan, home to more than 7,000 glaciers, ranks among the most climate-vulnerable countries despite contributing less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. It has already experienced increasingly erratic weather in recent years, including record-breaking heatwaves, droughts, and severe storms.

“Many conferences are held worldwide regarding climate change,” Sharif said during the meeting. “They [climate change ministry officials] have attended several meetings. They should bring some funds, generate funds for our [climate] resilient infrastructure.”

Sharif’s office said earlier that the prime minister will meet victims of the rains and floods in Gilgit and distribute relief funds during his day-long trip to the city. 

As per the National Disaster Management Authority’s (NDMA) latest situation report, of the 300 killed since June 26 from rain-related incidents in Pakistan, 140 are children, 103 are men while 57 are females. Punjab has reported the highest number of deaths, 162, followed by northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province with 70 casualties, Sindh with 28 deaths, Balochistan with 20 casualties, GB with 10, Islamabad with eight and Azad Kashmir with five deaths. 

The Meteorological Department has warned of more rains in the country from Monday, saying that monsoon currents penetrating the country are expected to intensify from Aug. 4. The PMD had warned that heavy rains may generate flash floods in local nullahs/streams of Chitral, Dir, Swat, Shangla, Mansehra, Kohistan, Abbottabad, Buner, Charsadda, Nowshera, Swabi, Mardan, Murree, Galliyat, Islamabad/Rawalpindi, northeast Punjab and Kashmir from Aug. 5-7. 

“Landslides/mudslides may cause roads’ closure in the vulnerable hilly areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan, Murree, Galliyat and Kashmir during the forecast period,” the PMD’s report said. 

In May, at least 32 people were killed in severe storms, while a third of the country was submerged by devastating floods in 2022 that killed more than 1,700 people, affected over 30 million and caused an estimated $35 billion in damages.