අධික උණුසුම ගැන තවත් අනතුරු ඇඟවීමක්

UN chief calls for urgent int’l action as whole world "feeling the heat"

Warning that summer heatwaves are reaching the halfway point to boiling temperatures, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for prompt international cooperation to protect vulnerable populations.

Guterres issued an urgent Call to Action on Extreme Heat to safeguard the wellbeing of billions around the world exposed to the crippling effects of unabated rises in global temperatures.

Laying out the science of extreme heat and its impacts on human health, the 20-page document brings together the diverse expertise and perspectives of ten specialized UN entities including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization in a first-of-its-kind joint publication, underscoring the multi-sectoral impacts of the crisis.

Sounding the alarm bells yet again, Guterres told reporters at the press that Monday and Tuesday this week were also the hottest days on record.

"Let's face facts: extreme temperatures are no longer a one-day, one-week or one-month phenomenon. If there is one thing that unites our divided world, it's that we're all increasingly feeling the heat. Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere. Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic, wilting under increasingly deadly heat waves with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world. That's 122 degrees Fahrenheit and halfway to boiling," the UN chief said.

Regarding political barriers to action, Guterres said he stands ready to support any country willing to participate in the fight against climate change to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"I am not frustrated. I am determined to turn things around and to do everything I can for those that have the decision capacity to do so, to effectively turn things around. And we must recognize that a lot is being done. The increase of renewable energy we are witnessing is the fastest increase of energy production by any means in history. We see electric cars multiplying in several countries. Many things are being done, but too little, too late. The problem is that climate change is running faster than all the measures that are now being put in place to fight it," he said.

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