GENEVA - Global warming and rising political tensions are dangerous and avoidable, UN Secretary-General António Guterres told the press, in a statement that raises awareness of the Climate Action Summit that will take place in September.
Mr. Guterres noted that while there have always been hot summers, this is “not the summer of our youth”, but a climate emergency, in which the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shows that, this year, we have experienced the hottest June ever. July is also on course to equal, or surpass the hottest month in recorded history, and 2015 to 2019 are likely to be the five hottest years on record.
“If we do not take action on climate change now”, said Mr. Guterres, “these extreme weather events are just the tip of the iceberg. And that iceberg is also rapidly melting.”