New Delhi, Nov. 10 -- The UN climate summit (November 9-20) opened in Antalya, Turkey on Monday, with COP31 president Murat Kurum calling on countries to turn promises into practical action, as the world confronts increasingly interconnected climate, economic and geopolitical challenges.

Calling this an "implementation COP", Kurum, who is Turkey's Minister for Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, also reaffirmed the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5degC above pre-industrial levels as the benchmark guiding international action.

On the inaugural day, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) also released its WMO State of the Climate Update 2026 report, which said the past 12 years have individually bee...