UNITED NATIONS secretary-general Antonio Guterres said today that the world owes Pakistan “massive” help in recovering from devastating floods because other nations have contributed much more to climate change, which experts say may have helped trigger the disaster.

Months of monsoons and flooding have killed 1,391 people and affected 3.3 million, while half a million have become homeless.

Planeloads of aid from the United States, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and other countries have begun arriving, but more remains to be done, Mr Guterres said.

Nature, he said in Islamabad, has attacked Pakistan, which contributes less than 1 per cent of global emissions, according to experts.

Nations that “are more responsible for climate change … should have faced this challenge,” Mr Guterres insisted while sitting next to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

“We are heading into a disaster,” Mr Guterres said. “We have waged war on nature and nature is tracking back and striking back in a devastating way. Today in Pakistan, tomorrow in any of your countries.”

The UN secretary-general’s visit to Pakistan comes less than two weeks after he appealed for $160 million (£138m) in emergency funding to help those affected by the monsoon rains and floods that Pakistan says have caused damage worth at least $10 billion (£8.6bn).

“I appeal for massive support from the international community as Pakistan responds to this climate catastrophe,” Mr Guterres tweeted after landing in Pakistan earlier today.

He said other nations contributing to climate change have an obligation to reduce emissions and help Pakistan.

Mr Guterres assured Mr Sharif that his voice was “entirely at the service of the Pakistani government and the Pakistani people” and that “the entire UN system is at the service of Pakistan.”

Later, Mr Guterres said that, by some estimates, Pakistan needs about $30bn (£26bn) in foreign aid to recover.

So far, UN agencies and several countries have sent nearly 60 planeloads of aid, with authorities saying that the UAE alone has sent 26 flights so far, making the Gulf state one of the most generous contributors.

The floods have touched all of Pakistan, including heritage sites such as Mohenjo Daro, which is considered one of the best-preserved ancient urban settlements in south Asia.

The floods have also injured 12,722 people, destroyed thousands of miles of roads, toppled bridges and damaged schools and hospitals, according to the National Disaster Management Agency.