In visit to Antarctica, Guterres appeals for action to end ‘climate anarchy’ – Saudi Gazette

In visit to Antarctica, Guterres appeals for action to end ‘climate anarchy’ – Saudi Gazette

NEW YORK — Antarctica has been called the sleeping giant, but it is now being awoken by climate chaos, the UN Secretary-General has warned.António Guterres is in Antarctica this week, where he saw first-hand how climate change is impacting the world’s southernmost continent, which is mostly covered in ice.“Fossil fuel pollution is heating our planet, unleashing climate anarchy in Antarctica,” said Guterres, adding that the Southern Ocean has taken the majority of the heat from global warming.“That means ice is melting into the ocean at record rates. Melting ice means sea levels rising at record rates,” he explained.“That directly endangers the lives and livelihoods of people in coastal communities across the globe. It means homes are no longer insurable. And it threatens the very existence of some small island States.”Antarctic sea ice is at an all-time low. New figures show that this September, it was 1.5 million square kilometers smaller than the average for the time of year — “an area roughly the size of Portugal, Spain, France and Germany combined.”Guterres noted