At the 77th United Nations General Assembly on Friday, Pakistan’s prime minister appealed to world leaders to join forces to help the country recover from the devastation caused by torrential rains that have so far hit the country have claimed more than 1,500 lives, including 552 children.
“There are no words to describe the shock we have experienced or how our country has changed,” said Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, adding that “Pakistan has never seen such a strong and devastating example of the impact of the global warming,” leaving a third of land underwater.
The Pakistani leader pointed out that in the wake of what he dubbed the “climate catastrophe,” about 33 million people are now at risk of contracting disease from receding floodwaters caused by heavy rainfall, and that “additional millions are searching at the same time.” of climate refugees still looking for dry land to build their shelters”.
The official explained that a million homes have been destroyed, nearly two million hectares of crops have been ruined, raising the risk of food insecurity in the country.
“Life in Pakistan has changed forever,” said Sharif, leaving an unequivocal critique of the most industrialized countries that contribute most to the increase in greenhouse gas emissions: “Nature has unleashed its anger on Pakistan without affecting our CO2 Looking at the footprint is close to zero.”
“Our actions have not contributed to this.”
On September 9th and 10th, the SecretaryGeneral of the United Nations visited the areas of Pakistan most affected by the monsoon. Against the backdrop of the devastation he saw with his own eyes, António Guterres declared: “I’ve seen many humanitarian catastrophes in the world, but I’ve never seen climate carnage on this scale”.
Babar Baloch of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates it will take six months for the floodwaters to finally subside.