By Abdul Samad Tariq ISLAMABAD, Aug 16 (APP):Pakistan’s leading newspapers continue to report glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) largely as isolated disasters, with 76.8 per cent of coverage focusing on problems rather than preparedness, early warning, adaptation and long-term resilience, a new study has found. The study analysed GLOF-related news reports, editorials and opinion articles published in English and Urdu national newspapers between June 1 and September 30 in 2023 …
GLOF coverage needs shift from disaster reporting to solutions: study
By Abdul Samad Tariq
ISLAMABAD, Aug 16 (APP):Pakistan’s leading newspapers continue to report glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) largely as isolated disasters, with 76.8 per cent of coverage focusing on problems rather than preparedness, early warning, adaptation and long-term resilience, a new study has found.
The study analysed GLOF-related news reports, editorials and opinion articles published in English and Urdu national newspapers between June 1 and September 30 in 2023 and 2024.
Conducted by climate policy advocacy expert and MPhil research scholar Muhammad Saleem Shaikh at Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU), the research examined the frequency, prominence, themes and framing of GLOF coverage in Pakistan’s national print media.
The study, carried out during 2024-25 under the supervision of Prof Dr Saqib Riaz, former chairman of AIOU’s Department of Mass Communication, found that media attention generally peaked after GLOF incidents instead of maintaining sustained focus on risk reduction, preparedness and adaptation.
English-language newspapers provided comparatively more detailed coverage than Urdu newspapers, while GLOF stories rarely received prominent front-page placement during the period studied.
The economic consequences frame was the most dominant, followed by conflict and human interest frames. Reports largely highlighted immediate damage and losses rather than longer-term coping strategies, resilience and policy responses.
With more than 13,000 glaciers, Pakistan’s northern areas are an important freshwater reservoir for South Asia, according to the Pakistan Glacier Inventory published in 2024 by Italy-based research organisation EvK2CNR.
The findings are particularly relevant to Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where nearly two million people face recurring GLOF risks, said Muhammad Asif Sahibzada, Director General of the Ministry of Climate Change and Environmental Coordination.
“The scale of the GLOF threat makes sustained and effective public communication an essential component of climate-risk management,” he said.
He said timely and sustained media reporting could help communities understand early warnings, preparedness measures and evacuation risks, while keeping GLOF vulnerabilities on the policy agenda and encouraging stronger institutional action.
Prof Dr Saqib Riaz said the study showed that GLOF risk should be treated not only as a disaster-management challenge but also as a communication challenge.
He called for a shift from episodic reporting towards sustained, locally grounded and solutions-oriented coverage to strengthen public awareness, preparedness and resilience among vulnerable mountain communities.
Khalil Ahmed, climate expert at UN-Habitat Pakistan and former national project manager of a GLOF risk-reduction project, said effective disaster-risk reduction required not only early-warning systems and physical interventions but also sustained public awareness and access to timely, understandable information.
The study recommends that media organisations give GLOF risks greater and sustained editorial attention, provide specialised training to journalists, strengthen collaboration with climate scientists and disaster-risk experts, and incorporate more voices from affected communities.
It also calls on newspapers to use their agenda-setting role to elevate GLOF risks from episodic disaster news to a sustained public-policy concern.
Saleem Shaikh successfully defended his thesis before a viva voce committee headed by Prof Dr Syed Hassan Raza, Dean of AIOU’s Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities.
The committee included Prof Dr Bakht Rawan, Chairman of the Department of Mass Communication; Dr Babar Hussain; Dr Shahid Hussain; and Dr Saadia Anwar Pasha.
The thesis had earlier undergone external evaluation by scholars including Dr Mudassir Mukhtar, Associate Professor at the Department of Media and Communication Studies, National University of Modern Languages (NUML), Islamabad.
Ahmed said the research contributed to scholarship on climate-change communication, disaster-risk communication and media framing in Pakistan and highlighted the role of news media in improving public understanding of GLOF risks and strengthening preparedness and resilience among vulnerable communities.
