Climate change poses flood threat in Pakistan

The agency's June 5 update recorded 24 unfrozen glacial lakes in northern Pakistan, with 15 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — 10 of them in Upper and Lower Chitral, three in Swat, and one in Lower Dir.

By July 2, that number had nearly doubled to 40, with Suparco noting that most lakes were concentrated in Chitral, Upper Dir and Swat.

The agency said it is regularly monitoring potentially dangerous glacial lakes via satellite imagery to support early warning and preparedness for GLOF hazards, drawing on a combined list of 131 potentially dangerous locations supplied by the Provincial Disaster Management Authorities, or PDMA.

"As expected, with rising summer temperatures, the number of unfrozen glacial lakes is increasing … indicating accelerated seasonal melting," Suparco said, adding that most unfrozen lakes remain within their previously recorded maximum extents.

A lake becomes a greater concern, it noted, when its water extent exceeds historical highs, since this can signal increased storage and higher risk of moraine dam instability. Moraine dams are natural geological formations created by glacial deposition.

The agency urged authorities to maintain heightened preparedness in downstream valleys given the continuing temperature rise.

Separately, data from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa PDMA showed 63 GLOF-vulnerable lakes and 21 potentially dangerous ones: nine vulnerable sites in Chitral, 18 in Upper Dir, 31 in Swat, and five in Upper Kohistan. All 21 potentially dangerous lakes are confined to Upper and Lower Chitral.