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World entering ‘age of climate extremes’: UN chief

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Cite

The Straits Times. (2026, November 9). World entering ‘age of climate extremes’: UN chief. The Straits Times. https://www.straitstimes.com/world/world-entering-age-of-climate-extremes-un-chief

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The Straits Times · collected 2026-11-09 · by The Straits Times

Quick Summary

At the UN climate summit in Antalya, Turkey on November 9, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the world is entering an era of persistent climate extremes due to man-made climate change and a strong El Niño event. He emphasized the need for urgent action by leaders to cut emissions and provide financial support to vulnerable countries. The World Meteorological Organization reported that 2026 was one of the hottest years on record, with global temperatures around 1.47 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and projected that El Niño could further elevate temperatures in 2027.
Written by AI on 2026-11-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The UN Climate Conference (COP31) opened in Antalya, Turkey on Monday, November 9, 2026. The summit gathers world leaders and climate activists to address unprecedented global heating exacerbated by extreme weather events like the recent devastating floods in Nepal and deadly heat waves worldwide. Over 100,000 participants are expected at the expo center over two weeks as discussions focus on accelerating the transition from fossil fuels to renewables amid financial constraints and geopolitical tensions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged leaders to "get serious" about tackling climate change, citing rising temperatures and a series of record-breaking global heat years due to a strong El Niño event, which could lead to more extreme weather well into 2027.

Written for “COP31 Climate Talks Open in Turkey” on 2026-11-09, grounded in this article and the 15 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political question, so it has no leaning score. That is an answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political position.
No political leaning scored for article 137906 · logged 2026-11-09

Story

COP31 Climate Talks Open in Turkey
Environment · 16 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 24% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
The Hindu
Hedges 4 of 17 claims Outlet record 78/100
Toronto Star
Leans left Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 64/100
Dawn
Leans left Hedges 3 of 28 claims Outlet record 72/100
The Hindu
Hedges 3 of 24 claims Outlet record 78/100
“While both articles discuss COP31 and occur on the same day in Antalya, Turkey, Article A focuses on the opening of the conference and the challenges faced by negotiators, while Article B centers on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' warning about entering an 'age of climate extremes'. They describe related but distinct aspects of the event.”
BBC News
Leans strongly left Hedges 4 of 43 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss similar topics and take place during COP31 in Turkey on November 9, 2026, they describe different aspects of the climate summit—one focusing on scientists' predictions for the hottest year on record, and the other on UN chief Antonio Guterres's warnings about entering an age of climate extremes.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 26 claims Outlet record 61/100
“Both articles cover opening statements and warnings at the COP31 conference in Turkey but describe different speakers and their key points.”
South China Morning Post
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 62/100
“The articles report on different aspects of the COP31 conference; one focuses on leaders urging acceleration in the fight against global warming, while the other highlights UN chief Antonio Guterres' warnings about entering an age of climate extremes.”
The Straits Times
Hedges 1 of 9 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss related climate issues but describe different events: one focuses on UN chief Antonio Guterres' warning about 'age of climate extremes', while the other reports a UN study about this year being among the hottest on record.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
24%
4 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
The Straits Times's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
16
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-11-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Straits Times · 4696 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

The Straits Times
3122 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
This year set to be one of four hottest on record, UN report says GENEVA, Nov 9 - This year is on track to be one of the four hottest on record, driven by a powerful El Niño and perpetuating a warming streak of more than a decade, a UN report showed on Monday.
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His statement came as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report indicating that 2026 has continued a streak of exceptional global temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels. Each of the past 12 years have been among the hottest 12 years on record, the agency said, with 2026 expected to be among the hottest ever. ‘Off the charts’ “What we are seeing gives new meaning to the phrase off the charts,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo told reporters in Geneva, cautioning that the current exceptionally strong El Nino could unleash more heat and extreme weather well into 2027.
A senior European Union official warned last week that there would be “no political will” for extra funding pledges at COP31.
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Also by The Straits Times
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 3122 articles by The Straits Times →

Topics

Antalya COP31 El Nino Turkey WMO

Subjects

WMO ORG · 7× Saulo PERSON · 3× Antalya GPE · 2× Turkey GPE · 2× Antonio Guterres PERSON · 1× Celeste Saulo PERSON · 1× Geneva GPE · 1× Guterres PERSON · 1× United Nations ORG · 1× World Meteorological Organization ORG · 1×

Narrative

As leaders gathered in Antalya for the UN climate summit, Guterres called on them to “get serious by cutting emissions faster, accelerating a just transition from fossil fuels and delivering the finance and protection vulnerable countries need”.
framing: mixed · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-11-09
His statement came as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report indicating that 2026 has continued a streak of exceptional global temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels. Each of the past 12 years have been among the hottest 12 years on record, the agency said, with 2026 expected to be among the hottest ever. ‘Off the charts’ “What we are seeing gives new meaning to the phrase off the charts,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo told reporters in Geneva, cautioning that the current exceptionally strong El Nino could unleash more heat and extreme weather well into 2027.
2026-11-09 · The Straits Times
World entering ‘age of climate extremes’: UN chief · mixed framing

Claims (17 extracted, 4 hedged)

World entering ‘age of climate extremes’: UN chief asserted
World → enter → extremes
The world is entering a new reality where climate extremes are the norm, the United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres warned on Nov 9, urging leaders at the COP31 climate conference in Turkey to “get serious”. asserted
Guterres → enter → Turkey
“A supersized El Nino is colliding with a planet already superheated by man-made climate change,” the UN secretary-general said in a statement. asserted
general → collide → statement
“We have entered a new age of climate extremes.” asserted
We → enter → extremes
As leaders gathered in Antalya for the UN climate summit, Guterres called on them to “get serious by cutting emissions faster, accelerating a just transition from fossil fuels and delivering the finance and protection vulnerable countries need”. asserted
countries → gather → finance
His statement came as the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released a report indicating that 2026 has continued a streak of exceptional global temperatures, melting ice and rising sea levels. Each of the past 12 years have been among the hottest 12 years on record, the agency said, with 2026 expected to be among the hottest ever. ‘Off the charts’ “What we are seeing gives new meaning to the phrase off the charts,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo told reporters in Geneva, cautioning that the current exceptionally strong El Nino could unleash more heat and extreme weather well into 2027. uncertain
Nino → come → 2027
“We should prepare for another record-breaking year in 2027.” The global average surface temperature between January and September 2026 was around 1.47 deg C above the pre-industrial average, the WMO said. asserted
WMO → prepare → average
And the El Nino in 2026 – expected to be the strongest since 1950 at least – could push the figure higher by the end of the year. uncertain
Nino → expect → year
Preliminary data shows 2026 figuring among the four hottest years on record, WMO climate information chief John Kenned told reporters, adding though that “with the El Nina developing, we might see when the final numbers come in that we’re close to the top”. uncertain
we → show → top
The naturally occurring weather phenomenon releases heat from the ocean, which 2026 has been the warmest ever measured, Saulo pointed out. asserted
Saulo → occur → ocean
El Nino is declared when the sea surface temperature is half a degree above average in the tropical Pacific, but from now through January, WMO forecasts “it may be 3.8C above average”, she said. uncertain
she → declare → average
The WMO also reported that the global sea level was the highest on record, freshwater was dwindling and glaciers were continuing a long-term retreat. asserted
glaciers → report → retreat
In 2025, the annual mass loss of ice was enough to fill five Olympic pools every second that year, it said. asserted
it → fill → pools
At the same time, “we are supercharging our weather and El Nino will be a risk multiplier”, Saulo said, warning that “heatwaves, tropical cyclones, and rainstorms are intensifying faster than our historical baselines prepared us for”. asserted
baselines → supercharge → us
On a positive note, the WMO hailed a significant increase of countries with essential multi-hazard early warning systems in place, from 55 in 2015 to 136 in 2025. asserted
WMO → hail → 2025
It urged the COP31 to ensure more investment in the sustained global observations, data-gathering and forecasting needed for such systems to work. asserted
systems → urge → observations
“We cannot afford to fly blind,” Saulo said. asserted
Saulo → afford → ?
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