Around 1,000 households in Gilgit-Baltistan are affected every year by glacial lake outburst floods and other climate-related disasters, with homes and crops destroyed and families left needing rehabilitation, Chief Minister Amjad Hussain has said. Speaking as chief guest at the Mountain Women Climate Award 2026 ceremony, he said the pattern had held for several decades and would remain a challenge for years to come, Skardu Times reported.

Hussain said Gilgit-Baltistan sat where three of the world's major mountain ranges met and held close to 8,000 glaciers, a water reservoir vital for the whole of Pakistan. Many settlements lie downstream of the glaciers, where floods triggered by glacial lake outbursts damage homes, farmland and infrastructure every year.

Billions spent on repairs

Climate-related disasters also damage roads, power houses, schools and other essential infrastructure, the chief minister said, with billions of rupees spent every year on repairs, a heavy strain on the region's limited development resources. He said the government had established a Glacier Protection Authority because there had previously been no dedicated institution for glacier protection and the study of the risks they posed.

Hussain called for the authority to build links with national and international research institutions so the effects of climate change on glaciers at different altitudes could be understood scientifically and protective measures put in place. He also urged that traditional knowledge be included in the work, including glacier grafting, the local technique of propagating or transplanting glaciers, Kashgil News reported.