The UN chief landed in Sindh province before flying over some of the worst-affected areas on his way to Balochistan, where he met with local residents, some of whom were directly impacted by the floods. Many had lost their loved ones, homes and everything they owned, amid the near continuous monsoon rainfall, flash flooding, and rain-induced landslides that have pummeled the country since mid-June.

More than 1,300 lives have been lost, and according to the United Nations, tens of millions of people are now homeless, one-third of this vast country is submerged, and livestock and crops have been wiped out. Moreover, education and learning has been interrupted for an estimated 3.5 million children, including in at least 61 refugee schools.

I have never seen climate carnage on the scale of the floods here in Pakistan.

As our planet continues to warm, all countries will increasingly suffer losses and damage from climate beyond their capacity to adapt.

This is a global crisis. It demands a global response. pic.twitter.com/5nqcJIMoIA

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) September 10, 2022

‘Climate carnage’

 “I have seen many humanitarian disasters in the world, but I have never seen climate carnage on this scale. I have simply no words to describe what I have seen today: a flooded area that is three times the total area of my own country, Portugal,” Mr. Guterres told reporters as he concluded his field visits.

While he had been struck by the “unquantifiable depths of human suffering” he had witnessed, he stressed that he had also seen “great heights of human endurance and heroism – from emergency workers to ordinary people helping their neighbors.” 

Earlier Saturday morning Mr. Guterres traveled from Islamabad to Sukkur in Sindh by plane, accompanied by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari. His visit ended in Karachi on Saturday evening, where he held a joint press conference with the Foreign Minister at the airport. 

Speaking on the tarmac, they were flanked by a freshly arrived aid shipment from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, that will be heading to help the effected communities.

The Secretary-General paid tribute to the massive response efforts of the Pakistani authorities – civilian and military, national and regional. 

He added: “I also want to thank the civil society, humanitarian organizations and my UN colleagues who have rushed in. I also want to take profit to thank all those donors who have started to support Pakistan in this terrible hour.”     

The needs are enormous, and that’s why “I urge massive and urgent financial support for Pakistan. And this is not just a question of solidarity or generosity. It is a question of justice.” 

Foreign Minister Zardari thanked the Secretary-General, said that the UN chief had visited “Pakistan in our time of difficulty and witnessed first-hand the devastation that has been caused by the catastrophic monsoon rains that we faced for many months.” 

He stressed that not only the crisis is not made by Pakistan, “but the response to this crisis must also be a global response.” (ILKHA)