Pakistan isn't to blame for a climate-change-fueled calamity that has flooded most of the country, according to the prime minister, as he made a tearful apology for foreign assistance in what he called the "toughest period" in the country's history.

"We are enduring the consequences, but it is not our fault," Shehbaz Sharif told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon when his climate change minister referred to the floods as a "climate disaster."


"We're dealing with a situation I've never seen before," Sharif added. "Nearly a million homes have been damaged or destroyed." Seventy-three districts of Pakistan are in disaster, and all four corners of the country are submerged, with more than 3,500km [2,174 miles] of roadways wiped away. Approximately one million tame animals have died.



"This is the most difficult movement in Pakistan's history." He had never witnessed such floods in his life. "I can tell without hesitation that I have never witnessed such destruction in my life," he remarked. "We appeal to the world community to come to our aid and stand with us now." He added that the floods have caused up to $10 billion (£8.5 billion) in damage, adding that all help monies provided will be transparent. You can also read about Prime Minister Shahbaz's calls for solidarity.


Pakistan's climate change minister, Sherry Rehman, claimed towns have turned into "oceans and rivers." Still, she predicted the country would enter a drought in the following weeks due to global warming. "We are at the forefront of a looming climate disaster."


According to Sherry Rehman, Pakistan accounts for less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. "Our carbon footprint is so minor... "Let's be realistic; there are nations that have to get privileged on the back of fossil fuels," she remarked. "The moment has arrived to make a change, and while we all have a part to play, they have a larger one in this climatic crisis."


"People are enjoying their lifestyles in the west, but somebody in Pakistan is paying the price," remarked Ahsan Iqbal, the planner, and development minister, during the same news conference. As the state approved fresh flood warnings for the next 24 hours, United Nations Secretary-General Guterres warned that Pakistani was facing a "monsoon on steroids."


Over the last two months, rainstorms have resulted in the worst floods in more than a decade. On Tuesday, Guterres stated that South Asia was a hub for the climate catastrophe and that the devastating floods in Pakistan, which had left tens of millions in need of assistance, served as a message to all nations about the devastation produced by human-induced global warming.


"The Pakistani people are confronting a monsoon on steroids, with unprecedented quantities of rain and flooding," he stated. "It kills my heart to watch such nice individuals suffer." The UN has issued an urgent request for $160 million in aid.


"People living in these "climate crisis" regions are 15 times more likely to die due to climate consequences, according to Guterres. "As we continue to experience more and more extreme weather conditions throughout the world, it is inexcusable that climate action is being pushed to the back burner, placing all of us, everywhere, at grave risk."


In Balochistan and Sindh, Pakistan has experienced more than four times the average rainfall over the past three decades.


Majid Ali Bughio, 30, and 20 extended family members fled their hometown in Sindh early Monday morning after hearing about breaches in a nearby dam.



Bughio claimed over the phone that he had urged his family to travel to Karachi since much of the Dadu and Badin areas were under water. "We want rations, food, medications, and emergency assistance from the Sindh government, and the administration must assist us in vacating." "We've been abandoned," he explained. "More than 70% of the people in the (larger city of Khairpur Nathan Shah) have fled." The stores and bazaars are all vacant, and several communities are submerged."


According to authorities, the flash floods have damaged more than 33 million individuals. The NDM (national disaster management) Authority said on Monday that the death toll from monsoon rains and floods in Pakistan had risen to 1,136, with 75 people dead in the preceding 24 hours.


Conservative House of Lords member Aamer Sarfraz stated on Tuesday that he was in Pakistan witnessing the "devastating consequences" of the floods firsthand.


"I hope our government rapidly boosts financial support for humanitarian aid." I know it's summer vacation, and we have a leadership competition, but this really can't wait. This is the time to lead, as we have in the past."