India, Nov. 9 -- Aparna Bose

With climate change intensifying extreme weather events and threatening communities worldwide, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell on Monday called on countries to use COP31 to accelerate practical solutions, stressing that the urgency of the moment must drive collective action.

Addressing the opening plenary of the UN climate conference here, Stiell highlighted the issues of rising heat crisis, glacial lake outburst floods in the Himalayan region and the threat of a super El Nino, warning that the impacts of global warming are becoming increasingly devastating.

"Global heating is already costing the Earth. Appalling tragedy has hit the Himalayas, adding to the ever-expanding catalogue hittin...