World leaders address climate crisis before UN meet amid record-breaking El-Niño

Prime ministers of Australia and Iceland discuss effects on their countries even as some shy away in face of war and inflation

World political leaders are descending on New York for the UN general assembly and some of them are putting the climate crisis on the agenda as they spoke on Monday at the start of the city’s annual Climate Week.

This year’s Climate Week – which runs alongside UNGA – comes after months of extreme heat in large parts of the world including Europe and the US, wildfires in Africa, flash flooding in Asia and a record-breaking El Niño.