World entering ‘age of climate extremes’: UN chief
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has declared that the world has entered a new era of climate extremes, driven by the combination of manmade global warming and a powerful El Nino event. The World Meteorological Organization reports that 2026 is on track to be one of the hottest years on record, with temperatures significantly above pre-industrial levels.
Why it matters
This warning highlights the accelerating pace of climate change and the urgent need for global policy shifts to mitigate extreme weather impacts and rising temperatures.
Antalya The world is entering a new reality where climate extremes are the norm, the United Nations chief Antonio Guterres warned on Monday (November 9, 2026), urging leaders at the COP31 climate conference in Turkiye to “get serious”. “A supersized El Nino is colliding with a planet already superheated by manmade climate change,” the UN secretary general said in a statement. “We have entered a new age of climate extremes.” As leaders gathered in Antalya for the UN climate summit, Mr. Guterres called on them to “get serious by cutting emissions faster, accelerating a just transition from fossil fuels and delivering the finance and protection vulnerable countries need”. His statement came as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization released a report indicating that 2026 has continued a streak of exceptional global temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels.
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