On 19 October 2025, Pakistan launched its first hyperspectral satellite, the HS-1 to augment the country’s capability of observing, analyzing and responding to environmental hazards. This launch came during the backdrop of post-flood recovery, thousands of people still being displaced and agricultural production having taken a huge hit. The juxtaposition of launching a state-of-the-art satellite to space while a humanitarian crisis unfolds on the ground highlights a governance paradox facing Islamabad: technological advancements are commendable, but even the most sophisticated satellites are mainly symbolic unless they are embedded in a proactive and institutionalized flood management system. The main argument of this article is that the true utilitarian value of space technology to Pakistan will be realized only if policymakers evoke a paradigm shift, from a reactionary posture to a climate resilient, accountability-oriented flood management model.
From Reaction to Readiness
As observed during the floods of August 2025, Pakistanis are still going through the cycle of suffering due to a slow reactive bureaucratic culture, watching and waiting, for emergency shelters, boats, helicopters, supplies. It is because for decades, there has been a systemic reliance on reactive rather than proactive flood response. However, since May 2024, Pakistan has deployed 4 satellites that can bring about an institutional sea change towards proactive flood management. The deployment of two Earth Observation (EO) platforms, with electro-optical high resolution and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) sensors, and the PakSat-MM1 communications satellite provide continuous surveillance over the entire flood cycle with the electro-optical satellite operating under clear sky conditions, while SAR provides indispensable data through cloud cover and darkness. The EO and SAR satellites are also pivotal for soil moisture measurement, conductivity readings across the river plains, measuring embankment integrity by digital twin simulations and even keeping track of snow accumulation in the Himalayas before its melting leads to flash floods downstream.
Turning Pixels into Policy
Pakistan’s space agency has been able to streamline its operations to deliver near real time imagery to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and provincial disaster agencies. Coupled with the robust communication network offered by PakSat-MM1, such architecture ensures the continuous flow of important data even in the event of a catastrophist failure of terrestrial communication links. SUPARCO’s Space Application Center on Response in Emergency and Disasters (SACRED) is the main signal processing center, which converts satellite data into usable information to be used by the decision-makers. Additionally, SUPARCO’s Natural Catastrophic Modelling Project (NatCat) uses probabilistic modelling to detect and predict high-risk flood areas. To facilitate NatCat, the complementary utilization of Pakistan optical, radar and hyperspectral satellites could led the way toward a more proactive flood management model rather.
Let’s imagine a scenario where satellite data is directly channeled into administrative instructions. For example, if NatCat projections supported by observations from SAR data show that soil moisture in a particular district is higher than a legally prescribed value, irrigation officials could be ordered to either strengthen embankments or start controlled releases of the water in advance. Likewise, hyperspectral diagnosis of cropland on the verge of submersion could trigger the automatic release of pre-approved financial relief by insurance linked digital cards. This is how Pakistan’s latest satellites will not be just passive observers but act as tools for social protection and economic fairness.
Indeed, launching satellites does not result in climate resilience without institutional and tethers that connect them to policy action on the ground. The decisive determinant is the ability of the state institutions to assimilate this data in the formulation of policy. Pakistan’s chronic disjunction of information acquisition and actionable intervention is the biggest hurdle. While NatCat has started bridging this chasm, there is a need for legal, fiscal and bureaucratic processes to evolve at the same time. Flood management legislation should enshrine satellite-based thresholds, which will automatically trigger administrative action, and national budgets should provide for anticipatory funds which will be discharged instantaneously upon breaches of such thresholds. This model of anticipatory flood financing has already been successfully implemented in Bangladesh.
The Human Element in a Digital System
Satellite telemetry provides raw incomprehensible data, the process of interpreting this information and how it is relayed to public understanding and then enforced through policy requires human intermediaries. Even the most technologically advanced constellation is worthless unless government officials possess the technical expertise to make sense out of its outputs, and the communicative skill to translate them into simple language which even underprivileged citizens with low-literacy rates can understand. Accordingly, Pakistan needs to develop a cadre of “satellite-intelligent information interpreters” in ministries and local administrations. These experts would be the synthesis of spectral data and pursuant actions, thus, allowing terabytes of imagery to support empirically based suggestions.
Besides honing technical expertise, this human-based intervention would facilitate attaining trust of the masses. The lack of information in times of crisis has negatively impacted public perceptions toward governments in disaster response operations by creating a vacuum which can be exploited by propagating disinformation. By sharing live and open-access flood maps based on indigenous satellite information, the same way that the European Copernicus project does, Pakistan can bolster transparency and institutional credibility. The same verified datasets could also be made available to journalists, non-governmental organizations, and the citizenry, hence ensuring that the relief is channeled to those who are actually in need and not to politically inclined constituencies. Through the robust relay capability of PakSat-MM1, official advisories can also reach remote areas where terrestrial networks falter during floods and thus reduce the potential for rumors, assist in timely evacuation of areas at risk and strengthen faith in state institutions.
Building a Framework for Resiliency
As early adopters of satellite data in disaster management such as Japan and the Netherlands show, technology can only give its benefits if it is embedded within visionary institutionalization. Pakistan is at the same inflection point now. The combination of the operational capacity of SACRED, the predictive modelling of NatCat and the country’s most recent satellite assets provides an unprecedented possibility for institutionalizing anticipatory flood governance. Policymakers should therefore focus on three immediate priorities. First, operationalize satellite-based thresholds in all provinces through inculcating it within the statutory framework of the NDMA such that data-driven warnings must prompt administrative decision making without procedural delays. Second, increase anticipatory financing along by linking satellite verified crop and flood assessments with rapid compensation mechanisms that are activated upon the thresholds being fulfilled. Third, to maintain a human interface between technology and governance, satellite interpreters should be placed in all relevant departments. Even if floods keep recurring, their impact does not have to be as catastrophic as witnessed in recent years. The earthquake of 2005 marked a watershed for Pakistan for revamping disaster management, similarly, the floods of 2025 can bring about a new era of flood management. Looking ahead, the choice that the Pakistani leadership faces is not a technical one but a moral one. Satellites are not just the symbols of scientific ambition, they can also be the tools of justice, responsibility and foresight. Pakistan has developed the ability to observe floods approaching, what is lacking is the courage to turn that vision into protective flood management.
Mustafa Bilal is a Research Assistant at the Centre for Aerospace & Security Studies (CASS), Islamabad. He can be reached at [email protected]
Dr. Ibrar ul Hassan Akhtar, Space Applications and Research Scientist, Research Solutions and Venture (RESOLVE), NUST. He can be reached at [email protected]
