The Japanese Government will support the replacement of the Karachi meteorological radar with 1.95 billion Yen (approximately 14.2 million Euros). This assistance belongs to a wider aid plan called National Multi Hazard Early Warning System Plan which was a part of the National Disaster Management Plan (NDMP) formulated through Japan’s assistance in 2012. This included the replacement of another weather radar in Islamabad and the installation of a Flood Forecasting System in conjunction with UNESCO.
The Karachi radar was established in 1991 under the grant of Japan together with other three radars that are part of the meteorological radar system of Pakistan, that currently counts on seven radars. Its mission was the monitoring of precipitations and tropical cyclones in the country’s Southern area. Nevertheless, the device has become obsolete during the last 24 years and needs to be replaced by a digital Doppler mode radar that would deliver more precise weather forecasts and warning owing to its 450 km radius of information processing.
Hiroshi Inomata, Ambassador of Japan to Pakistan, stated: “Japan will continue to work together with Pakistan to make this country disaster-resilient, making good use of experience and expertise Japan has gained from many disasters in the past.”
