A crowd gathered at Ruppert Park on the Upper East Side Saturday to bring attention to the crisis in Pakistan.

Many held posters and pictures showing the catastrophic conditions brought on by flooding that millions are facing in the country. The event was organized by nonprofit Muslim Volunteers for New York.

“As of now, 33 million Pakistanis are impacted,” Ayesha Ali, the consul general of Pakistan, said at the event. “Just to give you a perspective, 33 million is actually the entire population of California and it is 90% of the population of Canada.”

Since June, over 1,600 people have died in the catastrophic flooding. A third of the country is underwater with millions of homes destroyed and leaving hundreds of thousands homeless.

Leaders say the climate crisis has likely made conditions there worse, increasing rain by over 50% in some areas.

“This is a climate induced tragedy,” Ali said. “It is important to note as we go forward, we expect a lot from the global north. It is not countries like Pakistan that are responsible for what’s happening to us in terms of the climate.”

Pakistan handles less than 1% of the world’s planet-warming gases, but according to the Global Climate Risk Index, it’s the 8th most vulnerable nation to the climate crisis.

“Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. It has already cost devastating global consequences,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney said Saturday. “We must continue all efforts here in America and around the world to combat climate change. But particularly now we are speaking about Pakistan and ways that we can help our neighbor.”

According to Muslim Volunteers for New York, people can help those affected by the floods by donating to Friends of Indus Hospital, The Citizen Foundation and Child Life Foundation.