ISLAMABAD: Warning that upcoming monsoon rains could lead to floods, the Pakistani Prime Minister’s Coordinator on Climate Change, Romina Khurshid Alam, on Friday said relief camps established in vulnerable areas should be widely advertised to ensure access for potential victims.

Pakistan’s Disaster Management Authority last week warned of urban flooding in parts of the country next month as monsoon rains start from July 1, with 35 percent more downpours expected this year in a country considered one of the most vulnerable to climate change impacts.

Large swathes of the South Asian nation were submerged in 2022 due to extremely heavy monsoon rains and melting glaciers, a phenomenon linked to climate change that damaged crops and infrastructure and killed at least 1,700 people, displaced millions and inflicted billions of dollars in losses.

“Romina emphasized the importance of utilizing all available media platforms, including digital, electronic, radio, and mosque loudspeakers to effectively communicate information about the relief camps,” Radio Pakistan reported.

Heavy rains with thunderstorms are expected in Upper Punjab, Central Punjab and South Punjab from July 1 while monsoon rains could threaten urban flooding and hill torrents in South Punjab, the provincial disaster management authority said last Sunday. 

In 2010, the worst floods in memory affected 20 million people in Pakistan, with damage to infrastructure running into billions of dollars and huge swathes of crops destroyed as one fifth of the country was inundated.

Pakistan has also been in the grips of a heat wave since last month, with temperatures in some regions rising to above 50 degrees Celsius.