WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo at COP29. The main news of the day | Monday: COP29, Ukraine, Gaza, temperature records UN
The main news of the day in the UN and in the world: the opening of the 29th UN Climate Conference, escalation of shelling across Ukraine, medical evacuations from Gaza, 2024 could be the warmest year on record.
UN Secretary General Arrives in Baku
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Baku to attend the 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP-29). On Monday evening, he met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. During the talks, Guterres, as reported by his press service, stressed that the UN fully supports Azerbaijan’s efforts to ensure that the conference ends with a significant result. On Tuesday, the UN Secretary-General will address world leaders in Baku, calling on them to strengthen measures to reduce fossil fuel production and consumption, as well as support other initiatives to combat climate change. The main message of Guterres’ speech, according to his press service, will be addressed to the G20 countries. During his visit to Azerbaijan, the UN Secretary-General will also hold a number of bilateral meetings with world leaders.
Shelling of Ukraine
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reports that, according to local authorities, more than 100 civilians, including children, have been injured and killed in shelling across Ukraine over the past five days, and significant damage has been caused to civilian infrastructure. In particular, dozens of people were injured in an attack in Zaporizhia on Saturday – the second in five days. Authorities also report an escalation of drone strikes in the south of the country. Humanitarian workers are providing victims with hot meals, repair materials, blankets, solar lamps and hygiene items, as well as cash and psychosocial assistance.
OCHA also said that residents of some frontline communities are facing food shortages. In this regard, the World Food Programme has supplied equipment to 14 bakeries in six affected areas. In September alone, these bakeries produced more than half a million loaves of bread.
Medical assistance in Gaza
Amid escalating violence in the Middle East, the World Health Organization (WHO) continues to support the operation of health facilities and help evacuate patients in need of specialized treatment, said Hanan Balkhi, WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean. According to her, WHO and partners carried out the largest medical evacuation from Gaza since the beginning of the conflict, with 90 patients and 139 accompanying people transferred to hospitals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Romania. Over the past three weeks, WHO has organized seven missions to northern Gaza, including delivering medical supplies to Kamal Adwan Hospital.
Warmest Year
2024 is set to be the warmest year on record after a string of exceptionally high average monthly global temperatures. This is stated in a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), presented at the opening of the UN Climate Conference in Baku. At the same time, the period from 2015 to 2024 will be the warmest decade in history. The WMO declared a red alert level due to rapid climate change, which is accelerated by greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Melting glaciers, rising sea levels and warming oceans are accelerating, and extreme weather conditions are damaging economies around the world.