UN warning: "We are playing Russian roulette"
The UN has issued a stark warning about climate change and extreme heat following 12 consecutive months of record-breaking temperatures.
May 2024 was the hottest month since records have been made. And these data, far from being surprising, show a trend. Each of the last 12 months (from June 2023 to May 2024) has broken records in terms of temperatures, recording the highest figures since direct measurements have been made.
The situation is so alarming that the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres of Portugal, has been very firm: "We are playing Russian roulette with our planet," he said, while calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising similar to that applied to the tobacco industry.
He was speaking at an event at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, where he attended an event dedicated to the climate crisis coinciding with World Environment Day:
"Our planet is trying to tell us something, but we don't seem to be listening. We are breaking temperature records, and we are suffering the consequences," Guterres said.
(MaSi/ML. Source: Agence/Photo: Renzo de Souza/Unsplash)