Has the climate breakdown really begun?
Published: August 28, 2026
Duration: 4:59
On September 6th, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released a 96-word statement in which he referred to “climate breakdown” having begun. It was in response to a report from the World Meteorological Organization, which highlighted the impact of record-breaking heatwaves across the globe this summer.
June, July, and August 2023 are the hottest three-month period ever recorded. The WMO says that the increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves we’re experiencing are causing air quality to decline, impacting human health.
What’s the definition of “climate breakdown”? Was this summer expected to be so hot? Is there any way back? In...