South Asia is a hotspot for climate crisis: UN official

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that South Asia is a hotspot for the climate crisis and people living in these regions are 15 times more likely to die from climate impact. He was talking about the "catastrophic flooding" in Pakistan.

Pakistan is suffering from heavy rain that has drowned one-third of the country. The government has issued more flood warnings for the next 24 hours. The UN official called it a "monsoon on steroids".

The South Asian country has been witnessing heavy rains for over two months. It has damaged over one million homes and killed over a thousand people.

The UN secretary said the Pakistani people are facing the relentless impact of epochal levels of rain and flooding. "It breaks my heart to see these generous people suffering so much." The UN has issued an urgent appeal for $160 million to provide assistance. The funds will provide 5.2 million people with food, water, sanitation, emergency education, protection, and health support.

He criticised the inaction to reverse the effects of the climate crisis and said: "As we continue to see more and more extreme weather events around the world, it is outrageous that climate action is being put on the back burner, putting all of us, everywhere, in growing danger."

Pakistan's finance minister Bilawal said the country has become "ground zero" of global warming. Politician Ahsan Iqbal said it might take five years to rebuild the country. According to Dawn, damage of over PKR 355bn has been estimated until now.

Canada, Azerbaijan, and the UK have pledged $5m, $1.2m, and £1.5m in aid. The US announced a $30m fund in humanitarian assistance.