Tailored meteorological services provided to Pak to tackle floods: CMA

Fig.1 IR Enhanced Image of FY-4A, acquired at 12:00 (UTC) on 13th July, 2022. [Photo provided by China Meteorological Administration]

BEIJING, Sept. 8 (China Economic Net) - Meteorological departments from China and Pakistan are gearing up to respond to flood disaster in Pakistan, said China Meteorological Administration (CMA), adding that on CMA’s World Meteorological Centre Beijing website, Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD)’s user account is tailored with global model products in real time for reference.

Zhuang Guotai, Administrator of CMA, noted that CMA attached great importance to the flood situation in Pakistan and has worked closely with the Pakistani meteorological department to tackle floods. He reinforced CMA’s commitment in enhancing cooperation with PMD to jointly ramp up the capacity of disaster preparedness and response to climate change.

Since mid-June 2022, Pakistan has been drenched by extreme monsoon rains that have led to the country’s worst flooding in a decade. As per CMA, it has been paying close attention to the monsoon floods in Pakistan since June and collaborating with PMD in meteorological satellite monitoring (in particular FY-3 and FY-4 satellites) and remote sensing for flood monitoring and analysis, meteorological information application, weather forecast, etc.

Fig.2 500hPa geopotential height and 850hPa wind for 14th-18th, July 2022. [Photo provided by China Meteorological Administration]

“As a long-term partner, CMA will step up cooperation with PMD,” Zhuang told China Economic Net.

On top of that, on CMA’s World Meteorological Centre Beijing website, PMD’s user account is tailored with global model products in real time for reference, assisting the weather service for disaster response. Besides, the CMACast system in Pakistan has been upgraded with new equipment and up-to-date application platforms.

Also, the reporter learned from CMA that meteorological departments from both countries have held consultation, calling in meteorologists from technical bodies from both sides to jointly analyze the weather and climate factors of rainstorms battering Pakistan since June. 

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Pakistan is facing one of the worst flooding events in its history. As of 27 August, rainfall in the country was equivalent to 2.9 times the national 30-year average. In March to May this year, Pakistan was gripped by a devastating heatwave, which impacted water supplies, health, agricultural output and the economy, and caused rapid glacier melt.