‘Never seen climate carnage’ like Pakistan floods, says UN chief

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who is visiting flood-ravaged Pakistan, says he has “never seen climate carnage” on such a scale, blaming wealthier countries for contributing to the devastation.

Nearly 1,400 people have died and more than a million people have been rendered homeless in flooding that has submerged nearly one-third of Pakistan and destroyed crops in a country that has been facing high inflation and a balance of payment crisis.

“I have seen many humanitarian disasters in the world, but I have never seen climate carnage on this scale,” Guterres said on Saturday in the port city of Karachi on his second day of a visit in Pakistan.

“I have simply no words to describe what I have seen today,” he said.

More than a third of Pakistan was submerged by melting glaciers and record monsoon rains that began in June, causing colossal damage to homes, roads, bridges, rail networks, livestock and crops.

While Minister of Finance Miftah Ismail estimated the total loss at $10bn amid a continuing economic crisis, independent analysts put the figure between $15bn and $20bn, and fear it could further rise.

Guterres has said he hopes his visit will galvanise support for Pakistan, which has put the provisional cost of the catastrophe at more than $30bn, according to the government’s flood relief centre. Shortly after his arrival on Friday, the UN chief called for “massive” global support.