UN chief calls 2023 hottest year on record

DUBAI, Nov. 30 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called 2023 the hottest year on record as UN climate change conference COP28 started here in Dubai.

"The state of the global climate in 2023 is stark and clear. Things are moving so fast that a full month before the end of the year, we can already declare that 2023 is the hottest year recorded in human history," the UN chief said in a video message to delegates at the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP28.

This year has seen communities around the world pounded by fires, floods, and searing temperatures, he said, adding that record global heating should trigger world leaders to take action.

The two-week-long climate change conference in Dubai has garnered global attention as it marks the conclusion of the Global Stocktake, the first-ever two-year assessment of the world's collective progress toward the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement.