The northern areas of Pakistan are home to some of the largest glaciers on the planet outside the Poles.
The glacier reserves feed local livelihood systems, support unique ecosystems of global importance and serve as a source of water for downstream areas. In face of the growing threat from climate change, these resources need continuous assessment and monitoring.
Further still, the people living on the mountains of Pakistan are faced with the risk of mountain hazards originating from glacier changes under the effect of climate change, such as glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs).
This project aims at developing a consolidating program to establish monitoring of high altitude climate and the assessment of glacier changes, in support of environmental monitoring and natural resources management in the Mountains of Pakistan. The project will also contribute to improve risk assessment and prevention, dealing in particular with GLOFs and hydrogeological hazard, thanks to the application of remote sensing and GIS technologies and a dedicated web information system.