A National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS) in Pakistan would offer a comprehensive framework for the broader development of climate services in Pakistan—- adhering to detailed instructions from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and lessons learned from other nations.
In order to assist the coordination of institutions across the climate services value chain and enable efficient co-design, co-production, communication, distribution and use of sea-level information, it would be imperative that coastal climate services be included in the National Framework for Climate Services (NFCS).
By increasing adaptive capability and lowering vulnerability to the effects of climate change, an NFCS would assist Pakistan’s National Action Plan (NAP).
Therefore, incorporating coastal climate services into the NAP’s implementation would be advantageous.
Together with Pakistan’s NAP, an NFCS would aid in creating a supportive policy environment that would allow for additional suggestions.
Improving the availability of continuous, open-access sea-level data for Pakistan’s coastline and obtaining real-time sea-level data (in a regular and systematic manner) are urgently needed.
Monitoring sea-level change and other coastal calamities like tsunamis and long-distance swells requires a sea-level data network that runs the entire length of the coastline.
This entails keeping up with and improving the tide gauges that are currently in place as well as placing extra devices in key areas for co-assessment with other meteorological variables (such as salinity and sea surface temperature).
In order to better identify vertical land movement (subsidence or uplift) for local relative sea-level change, it would be advantageous to co-locate tidal gauge equipment with GNSS.
We can better identify trends in land vertical motions by combining GPS data from the ground with satellite-based monitoring.
In order to track local sea-level drivers, house pertinent research literature and training materials and store sea-level data (accessible for any area and across a variety of timescales), a Pakistan Sea Level Data Portal might be created.
Sufficient and long-term funding will be necessary to install and maintain equipment, conduct research and fund necessary training.
The distribution of resources among organizations may also present difficulties.
Furthermore, open-access publishing may be restricted by the stringent data-sharing requirements of certain organizations.
In these situations, the data might be transformed into a graphical representation or another open-access version.
The open exchange of data for real-time analysis of sea-level rise and coastal hazards might be supported by the Pakistan Sea-level Working Group.
Addressing sea-level rise will necessitate a strong, cross-organization collaborative approach with ongoing international partnerships, as sea-level information is usually managed by multiple organizations in Pakistan.
This will ensure that decisions are based on the most recent scientific consensus and learning.
It will also be crucial to keep up the pace when multinational, cooperative initiatives are finished.
Pakistan Metrological Department (PMD), the National Institute of Oceanography, the Pakistan Navy Hydrographic Department, the climate change and coastal development departments of Sindh and Balochistan, the Global Change Impact Study Centre, universities and academic institutions, public and private coastal and marine science departments, port authorities (e.g., Karachi and Gwadar) and fisheries departments are important organizations in Pakistan.
International agencies including the WWF, ADB, WMO, IUCN and Met Office also play a significant role.
The Pakistan Sea-Level Working Group and participation in international initiatives like the Ocean Decade network or communities of practice like the Practitioner Exchange for Effective Response to Sea Level Rise (PEERS) can help to foster cross-organizational and international collaboration.
Visiting scientists and embedded researchers could be a means of strengthening collaborations between various organizations.
In order for future research to progress and expand upon the most recent scientific data and knowledge, it would be extremely advantageous for scientific and technical project reports to be made publicly available as open-source, peer-reviewed publications, whenever feasible.
University students and early career scientists could be trained in sea-level science and coastal climate services as part of an easily available national training network to guarantee resilience is maintained.
This may entail expanding sponsored Ph.D.programs and incorporating sea-level science modules into additional university courses, or it could entail creating or utilizing already-existing training materials that are updated often and in line with research-quality datasets.
In the years to come, attending international conferences and training workshops to exchange scientific information and insights will be crucial, as will the training materials made accessible through the World Climate Research Programme Academy.
Last but not least, extending the observation record, data archaeology and digitizing manually recorded tidal gauge logs could aid decision-makers and enable the study of exceptional sea levels over longer time periods.
Emerging machine learning methods and citizen science may help with this.
—The writer is contributing columnist.
