Guterres Warns Year Is Entering 'New Era of Extreme Climate Phenomena'

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned today that the world is entering a “new era” in which extreme weather events have become the norm, urging leaders gathered at the COP31 climate conference in Turkey to “deal seriously” with this situation.

In a statement, Guterres said, “We have entered a new era of extreme weather. The super El Niño phenomenon is occurring while the planet suffers from excessive temperature rises driven by human-caused climate change.”

He called on conference participants to “show seriousness by accelerating emissions reductions, speeding up a just transition away from fossil fuels, and providing the necessary funding and protection for countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”