"The stakes could not be higher," a senior UN official told reporters ahead of the UN Climate Summit in New York. Heavy flooding, drought and ever longer heatwaves are just some of the extreme weather events that have battered communities over the past summer alone.
Climate disasters are "wreaking havoc" on every continent, the UN official added.
Scientists say human-caused global warming is driving the changes in Earth's climate and that rising temperatures will mean worse impacts in the long run.
Nations deliver new climate targets ahead of climate summit