Earth in ‘era of global boiling’, UN chief warns, as July set to be hottest month on record
- Short of a ‘mini-Ice Age’ over the next days, this month will shatter records across the board, Secretary General Antonio Guterres says
- Searing heat has baked parts of Europe, Asia and North America, combining with wildfires that have blazed across Canada and parts of southern Europe
UN chief Antonio Guterres on Thursday pleaded for immediate radical action on climate change, saying that record-shattering July temperatures show Earth has passed from a warming phase into an “era of global boiling”.
The secretary general’s remarks came as UN and EU monitors said that July is set to be the hottest month in recorded history and likely “unprecedented” for thousands of years, warning that this was a taste of the world’s climate future.
Speaking in New York, Guterres described the intense heat across the Northern Hemisphere as a “cruel summer”.
“For the entire planet, it is a disaster,” he said, noting that “short of a mini-Ice Age over the next days, July 2023 will shatter records across the board”.
“Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning. The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”
Searing heat intensified by global warming has baked parts of Europe, Asia and North America this month, combining with wildfires that have scorched across Canada and parts of southern Europe.