UN Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday said the world is “looking into the eye of a Category 5 hurricane” in a blunt speech to political leaders and business chiefs at Davos.

The United Nations boss delivered a scorching assessment of the “sorry state of our world” from the main stage at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort town.

Mr Guterres stated that “our world is being plagued by a perfect storm on a number of fronts.”

His litany of threats included the looming global recession, the war in Ukraine, deepening inequalities, a rapidly unfolding cost of living crisis, high debt levels “pounding” vulnerable countries, and the lingering scars of the pandemic.

Mr Guterres said “the battle is being lost” in the fight against global warming and that every week brings “a new climate horror”.

He said the commitment to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels “is going up in smoke” and the world was hurtling towards a 2.8 degree increase.

(dpa/NAN)