Lives of millions "turned upside down" by El Niño says UN chief

The "lives and livelihoods" of millions around the world have been "turned upside down" by the extreme weather events linked to the current El Niño phenomenon.

That's the view of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in remarks at an event focusing on El Niño and Climate at UN Headquarters on Tuesday.

He told ministers and others involved in the political forum that "human-induced" climate change could interact with destabilizing events like El Niño, in totally unforeseen ways.

"There have been many warnings that human-induced climate change may interact with El Niño in ways we have never before experienced. We should expect future events to be less predictable, more frequent and more severe, starting with La Niña, which is likely to begin towards the end of 2016..The challenges to our response go far beyond humanitarian action."


SOURCE: UN Radio