Guterres disclosed this in a press conference on Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York, USA.
According to data released by The World Meteorological Organisation and the European Commission’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, July 2023 is set to be the hottest month ever recorded in human history.
He said, “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived”.
He further stated that the consequences of the era of global warming are clear and tragic.
He stressed that the consequences included children being swept away by monsoon rains, families running from flames, and workers collapsing in scorching heat.
“The consequences are clear and they are tragic: children swept away by monsoon rains; families running from the flames; workers collapsing in scorching heat.
“For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster, and for scientists, it is unequivocal that humans are to blame,” Guterres noted.
In a related development, the United Nations Children Emergency Fund also disclosed that half of the children in Europe and Central Asia, which are around 92 million, are exposed to high heatwave frequency, which doubles the global average.
He urged fossil fuel companies to channel their move towards clean energy through detailed transition plans. Also, countries should consider a set of global goals to mobilise international action to reduce global warming.
In addition, he mentioned that countries must safeguard their citizens from sweltering heat, deadly floods, storms, droughts, and blazing flames that can contribute to global warming.
He said, “All countries must respond and protect their people from the searing heat, fatal floods, storms, droughts, and raging fires that result.”
He further reiterated the need for “multilateral development banks leveraging their funds to mobilise much more private finance at reasonable cost to developing countries — and scaling up their funding to renewables, adaptation, and loss and damage”.
He expressed that humanity has unleashed destruction, therefore, government, civil society, business, and others working in partnership need to deliver.
