ISLAMABAD: Care­taker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Thursday said the world needed to step forward and help developing countries like Pakistan to cope with the adverse effects of climate change, as he inaugurated newly established National Emergencies Operation Centre (NEOC).

The NEOC was established at the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) headquarters, which will serve as the hub of all technological inputs related to climate change, disasters management and predictive modelling for national emergencies.

The interim prime minister praised the role of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) in both managing the Covid-19 pandemic and responding to the 2022 floods.

Emphasising the importance of disaster-resilient infrastructure and policy framework, the prime minister said that despite being one of the least contributors of carbon emissions globally, Pakistan is one of the top countries affected by climate change.

Inaugurates National Emergencies Operation Centre in Islamabad

“Climate change is a real challenge that will keep haunting our future generations unless we take such concrete steps,” he reiterated.

The prime minister also praised the coordinated efforts of all state institutions during the devastating floods of 2022, especially NDMA.

“Nearly one-third of the population of the country was affected by floods in 2022 and $30 billion was estimated to be the economic losses,” he added.

The prime minister lauded the establishment of the Nat­ional Emergencies Operation Centre, which will help coordinate efforts to manage not only future natural disasters but also reduce disaster risks and mitigate damages.

PM Kakar was apprised that the NEOC will serve as a hub of all technological inputs related to climate change, disaster management and predictive modelling for national emergencies.

It was informed that the first of its kind in Pakistan and the region, NEOC was Pakistan’s indigenously conceptualised capability, which will evolve capacity to predict future disasters with credence and accuracy about likely locations, time of impact and damage intensity.

It will generate coordinated response, guiding lower tiers of provincial and district-level disaster management authorities.

There was a recognised need for a platform that could perform functions related to developing a national collage of disaster monitoring, utilising high-end technology-driven capabilities.

NDMA Chairman Lt Gen Inam Haider Malik briefed the prime minister, who attended as the chief guest, along with ambassadors, UN organisation country heads, leading global NGOs and experts at the event.

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2023