This year has been masterclass in human destruction, UN chief tells Cop29

Antonio Guterres says global heating is super-charging disasters, and Cop hears warning of inflation on steroids'

This year has been a masterclass in human destruction", the UN secretary general has said as he reflected on extreme weather and record temperatures around the world fuelled by climate breakdown.

Antonio Guterres painted a stark portrait of the consequences of climate breakdown that had arisen in recent months. Families running for their lives before the next hurricane strikes; workers and pilgrims collapsing in insufferable heat; floods tearing through communities and tearing down infrastructure; children going to bed hungry as droughts ravage crops," he said. All these disasters, and more, are being supercharged by human-made climate change."