Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
Urgent action is needed to mitigate emission and adapt to the changing climate, this is the key message of the latest report “United in Science” presented today by Prof Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), at the United Nations in Geneva.
“We have again broken records in main greenhouse gas concentrations", said Mr. Taalas when speaking to the media."Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide and the carbon dioxide emissions have already exceeded the emission level of 2019 before the pandemic”,
The report says that greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise to record highs. The ambition of emissions reduction pledges for 2030 needs to be seven times higher to be in line with the 1.5 °C goal for the Paris Agreement.
The new multi-agency report coordinated by WMO provides an overview of the most recent science related to climate change, its impacts and responses. It includes input from WMO, the UN Environment Programme, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and many others.
“Temperatures, the estimation is that again the past five years are going to be the warmest period on record”, said Mr. Taalas. “We still have three months to go this year, but it’s practically sure that this period is going to be the warmest again.”
The report predicts that there is a 93% probability that at least one year in the next five will be warmer than the warmest year on record (2016).
Cities – home to 4,2 billion people - will face increasing socio-economic impacts with the most vulnerable populations suffering the most.
“One of the new features of this report is that we are also focusing on cities”, said WMO’s Chief. “70 percent of the emissions are coming from cities where are growing amount of global population are living, and also the impacts of climate change are very much felt in cities”.
He added that “the heat waves are more dramatic, especially the night temperatures are higher than in the more urban areas, and also flooding challenges and drought challenges and storm challenges there felt more strongly in cities.”
According to Mr. Taalas, climate science is increasingly able to show that many of the extreme weather events that the world is experiencing have become more likely and more intense due to human-induced climate change.
“We have seen a fivefold increase in the amount of disasters during the past five years. That means flooding, drought, tropical storms and especially heat waves,” he said.
Hence, it is more important than ever to scale up action on early warning systems to build resilience to current and future climate risks in vulnerable communities, Mr. Taalas stressed.
“Only half of the 193 members of WMO have proper early warning services in place. This gap means that once disaster hits a country, there’s more casualties and also more economic losses and we could save lots of money and also human lives by implementing proper early warning services.”
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Statements , Press Conferences | UNCTAD
Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN trade and development (UNCTAD) briefs the media following the opening of the 16th Conference of the United Nations on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16) in Geneva.
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Edited News | WFP , OCHA
UN urges opening of all Gaza crossings to deliver three-month food supply
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) has warned food aid cannot reach everyone in Gaza unless all border crossings are opened, particularly in the north where famine was declared in August. The agency says it already has enough supplies in place to feed the entire population of the Strip for three months – if full access is granted by Israel.
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Press Conferences | UNCTAD , WMO , WFP , UN WOMEN , WHO , OCHA
Rolando Gómez, Chief of Section, Public Information, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives of the World Food Programme, UN Women, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Meteorological Organization.
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Press Conferences | WMO
WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin
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Edited News | UNDP , UNICEF , OCHA , ICRC
Around $70 billion will be needed to reconstruct Gaza and make it safe after two years of war, UN development experts said on Tuesday, while aid agencies reported that far too little aid continues to reach desperate Palestinians.
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Press Conferences | WMO , UNICEF , UNDP , ICRC , WHO , OCHA
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service in Geneva, chaired a hybrid press briefing, which was attended by the spokespersons and representatives of the United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Meteorological Organization, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
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Press Conferences | UNCTAD
UNCTAD / 16TH CONFERENCE ON TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT
As the global economy undergoes tectonic shifts in trade, finance and technology, global economic and development leaders will gather in Geneva this month to chart a path through mounting uncertainty and fragmentation. Ahead of the 16th session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD16), Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan outlines how countries can navigate record debt, disrupted supply chains, volatile investment flows and accelerating digital transformation. UNCTAD / UNTV CH
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Edited News | OHCHR
The UN human rights office, OHCHR, on Friday welcomed the Nobel Peace Prize committee’s decision to name Maria Machado as this year’s laureate, in recognition of her work promoting the Venezuelan people’s democratic hopes.
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Edited News | UNRWA , UNICEF , WHO
As Gazans jammed the main route leading north on Friday after a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was announced, UN aid teams repeated their call to open all crossings into the devastated enclave to prevent famine spreading.
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Press Conferences | IFRC , UN WOMEN , UNHCR , UNICEF , UNRWA , WHO
Alessandra Vellucci, Director of the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) in Geneva, chaired the hybrid briefing, which was attended by spokespersons and representatives from the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the World Health Organization.
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Press Conferences | UNECE
UNECE Press conference on the Ministerial Meeting on Housing Affordability and Sustainablility
On 8 October 2025, UNECE member States' ministers meet to focus on the urgent challenges and strategic priorities surrounding housing affordability and sustainability in the UNECE region. Ten years after the adoption of the Geneva UN Charter on Sustainable Housing, ministers will highlight challenges and key priorities for the achievement of the Charter's objectives, and present good practice and strategic solutions in this regard. As the key outcome of the meeting, ministers will be invited to agree on practical commitments towards sustainable and affordable housing.
The meeting will take place as part of the eighty-sixth session of the UNECE Committee on Urban Development, Housing and Land Management (8–10 October 2025).
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Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , WHO
Two years of Gaza-Israel war bring ‘indescribable’ pain: UN humanitarians
Two years since the Hamas-led terror attacks on Israel, UN humanitarians on Tuesday reiterated calls for the release of all hostages in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and an aid surge to alleviate Palestinians’ suffering, as talks on a US-driven peace plan continued in Egypt.