UN chief calls for urgent int’l action as whole world "feeling the heat" of record-breaking temperatures

Warning that summer heatwaves are reaching the halfway point to boiling temperatures, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for prompt international cooperation to protect vulnerable populations.

Guterres issued an urgent Call to Action on Extreme Heat to safeguard the wellbeing of billions around the world exposed to the crippling effects of unabated rises in global temperatures.

Laying out the science of extreme heat and its impacts on human health, the 20-page document brings together the diverse expertise and perspectives of ten specialized UN entities including the Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the World Health Organization and World Meteorological Organization in a first-of-its-kind joint publication, underscoring the multi-sectoral impacts of the crisis.

Sounding the alarm bells yet again, Guterres told reporters at the press that Monday and Tuesday this week were also the hottest days on record.

"Let's face facts: extreme temperatures are no longer a one-day, one-week or one-month phenomenon. If there is one thing that unites our divided world, it's that we're all increasingly feeling the heat. Earth is becoming hotter and more dangerous for everyone, everywhere. Billions of people are facing an extreme heat epidemic, wilting under increasingly deadly heat waves with temperatures topping 50 degrees Celsius around the world. That's 122 degrees Fahrenheit and halfway to boiling," the UN chief said.

Regarding political barriers to action, Guterres said he stands ready to support any country willing to participate in the fight against climate change to limit the rise in global average temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

"I am not frustrated. I am determined to turn things around and to do everything I can for those that have the decision capacity to do so, to effectively turn things around. And we must recognize that a lot is being done. The increase of renewable energy we are witnessing is the fastest increase of energy production by any means in history. We see electric cars multiplying in several countries. Many things are being done, but too little, too late. The problem is that climate change is running faster than all the measures that are now being put in place to fight it," he said.

UN chief calls for urgent int’l action as whole world "feeling the heat" of record-breaking temperatures

China’s first intelligent field plant phenotype precision identification platform went into operation recently in Sanya City, south China’s Hainan Province, which is a milestone in the country’s development of intelligent breeding.

The phenotype of a plant is a term used to describe observable characteristics of the plant, such as its appearance, and some inherent physiological characteristics, such as resistance to drought and diseases.

In an experimental field of the National Nanfan Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, a large piece of equipment is moving across the field. The equipment, called the field plant phenotype precision identification platform, can move according to the preset track and can be remotely controlled. While moving, the equipment can scan the plants with its six sensors, just like a CT machine for plants.

"The ultimate goal is to achieve high-throughput, large-scale, efficient and precise collection of germplasm resources, which can be four to five times higher than the efficiency of the traditional manual collection," said Jin Xiuliang, a researcher at the institute.

Although the equipment looks simple from the outside, it contains six high-precision image acquisition devices such as multi-spectral, thermal infrared, and chlorophyll fluorescence devices. Data can be collected at fixed times and points according to experimental needs, and the collection of a germplasm material can be completed within 30 seconds.

After the data collected through this platform is transmitted to the data analysis center, researchers can more quickly and accurately screen out germplasm resources with excellent traits, laying the foundation for subsequent crop breeding.

"The plant phenotype identification facility at the National Nanfan Research Institute is a milestone in the field of crop science in China. It can greatly enhance the independent innovation capabilities of germplasm innovation, gene mining, and variety breeding, and enhance the international competitiveness of China's seed industry," said Li Huihui, vice president of the institute.  

China makes major progress in smart crop breeding