Survivors and relatives of victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami 20 years ago visited mass graves, lighted candles, and consoled one another in rituals across Southeast and South Asia on Thursday to commemorate the tragedy, which killed an estimated 230,000 people.

The tsunami on December 26, 2004, was caused by a 9.1 magnitude earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Aceh region, bringing waves as high as 17.4 meters (57 feet) crashing onto the shores of Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, and nine other nations.

In Indonesia, which had more than half of the total death toll, hundreds gathered at a mass grave in the Ulee Lheue hamlet, sprinkling flower petals on the grave markers, many sobbing for the people they lost.

Some said they were unsure if their loved ones were truly present, since many were buried unidentified. 

Nurkhalis, a 52-year-old who lost his wife, children, parents, and in-laws without finding their corpses said the date still "haunts us" despite the time passing.

A memorial service was also held in the front yard of Aceh's Grand Baiturrahman Mosque, with hundreds sitting in silence for three minutes before praying together.

Sri Lanka observed the day with a two-minute silence at the Peraliya Tsunami Memorial Statue in Galle, according to a brief statement from the country's disaster management department.

Thailand, where the tragedy killed 54,000 people, commemorated the occasion at Ban Nam Khem hamlet in southern Phang Nga province with religious ceremonies for those who perished, and hundreds gathered at the Tsunami Wall,  a memorial place near where the rites were performed.

Sri Lanka observed the day with a two-minute silence at the Peraliya Tsunami Memorial Statue in Galle, according to a brief statement from the country's disaster management department.

A 62-year-old resident who lost her daughter expressed she could no longer bring herself near the sea. "I felt that the waves took my daughter away, I was so mad at it," she said.

People 'paying terrible price' for climate inaction: Guterres

Back in October,  UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres once again raised the alarm about global warming, saying that humanity is already "paying a terrible price" for failing to act on the matter.

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) issued a new study citing all-time high greenhouse gas emissions documented in the UN Emissions Gap study 2024, asking world leaders to take immediate action to avert catastrophic rises in temperatures and avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Guterres stated in a recorded statement during the publication of the UNEP's Emissions Gap report that the emissions gap is not an abstract concept, emphasizing that "there is a direct link between increasing emissions and increasingly frequent and intense climate disasters," asserting that the report clearly showed "there can be no more playing for time. We are out of time."

"Around the world, people are paying a terrible price," he stated, detailing how these emissions mean record temperatures that fuel "monster hurricanes," and "biblical floods."

He cautioned that "Record heat is turning forests into tinder boxes," likening the situation to walking a tightrope.

"Either leaders bridge the emissions gap or we plunge headlong into climate disaster, with the poorest and most vulnerable suffering the most," Guterres said, describing that there was still hope if the world's leading economies take the lead in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

"Today's report shows affordable, existing technologies can achieve the emissions reductions we need to 2030 and 2035 to meet the 1.5°C limit, but only with a surge in ambition and support," he explained.