UN Chief Reiterates Call For More Efforts To Curb Rising Temperatures

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) NEW YORK, July 25 (KUNA) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued an urgent call to better protect billions around the world exposed to crippling effects of extreme heat, as global temperature rise continues unabated.
Thursday's appeal comes against the backdrop of record temperatures and deadly heatwaves - from the United States to Africa's Sahel and Europe to the Middle East - that have killed several hundred people this summer.
"Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic - wilting under increasingly deadly heatwaves, with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world," the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said at a press conference at UN HQ in New York.
"That is 122 degrees Fahrenheit - halfway to boiling. The message is clear: The heat is on. Extreme heat is having an extreme impact on people and planet. The world must rise to the challenge of rising temperatures," he stressed.
"Those most at risk include the urban poor, pregnant women, children, older persons, those with disabilities, the sick, and the displaced, who often live in substandard housing without access to cooling.
"According to UN estimates, heat-related deaths for people over 65 years of age increased by about 85 percent over the past two decades, while 25 percent of all children today are exposed to frequent heatwaves and by 2050, that could rise to almost 100 percent.
"We must respond by massively increasing access to low-carbon cooling, expanding passive cooling - such as natural solutions and urban design and cleaning up cooling technologies while boosting their efficiency," Guterres said, calling for scaling up of finances to protect communities from "climate chaos." (end)
ast

MENAFN25072024000071011013ID1108484535