UN expert warns of more frequent extreme weather events, urges international action

A UN expert warned that the world is facing more frequent extreme weather events while calling for concrete actions from the international community.

Simone Sandholz, head of the Urban Futures and Sustainability Transformation Program at the United Nations University - Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), said in an interview with China Central Television (CCTV) on Saturday that rising global temperatures have resulted in more frequent extreme weather events, including heatwaves.

"Heat waves, for instance, are one of the climate extremes that we are facing more frequently and also more severely, including even here in Germany, which usually has been a bit more at the cooler side, if I may say so. And that's, of course, because our atmosphere is heating up and that results in this heat which is exacerbated then also by city environments and how we build up our places, for instance," she said.

Sandholz said that climate change is no longer a distant risk but an unfolding reality. She said its impacts have extended beyond the environment and could trigger future conflicts.

"The future climate extremes may also trigger more of these conflicts, for instance, heat or other flood extreme events or whatever other events may impact on the water availability of the future, that may deplete, it may also impact on land resources and food resources, so having less of that may trigger more conflicts," she said.

Sandholz said no country can escape the impacts of climate change, expressing hope that the international community can shelve differences and act swiftly.

Sandholz's remarks came as more than 7,000 government delegates and other stakeholders gathered in Bonn, Germany, for the UN June Climate Meetings.

Known as the 64th session of the Subsidiary Bodies under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), or SB64, the annual June meetings are expected to advance technical and political work ahead of the 31st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled to take place in November in Antalya, Türkiye.

Running from June 8 to June 18, the Bonn meetings also discuss advancing implementation of outcomes from the first global stocktake at COP28, developing a just transition mechanism, and climate finance.

UN expert warns of more frequent extreme weather events, urges international action

By leveraging the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City, Shanghai is forging a full-chain AI film ecosystem that covers computing power, data, models, and application scenarios, thus driving the integrated development of "film plus technology."

At a workshop during this year's Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF), staff showed how a green screen and virtual studio can create a video of someone flying on a sword in only 10 minutes, a process that once took hours or even days.

"Our new AI workflow can bypass the tedious process of creating 3D assets. We only need a simple white model to position the actor within the scene. Then, AI takes care of everything, including integration of lights and shadows, computer-generated visual effects, and traditional manual production, dramatically improving efficiency," said Wang Yi, marketing director of a Shanghai-based virtual production technology company.

Technological innovation, continuous upgrades, and the pursuit of quality have become industry standards for filmmakers and television producers.

"What we're working on now is using a full AI workflow to adapt a classic black-and-white movie into a short drama series of 60 episodes, each about two to three minutes long. With the rapid improvement of large language model capabilities, on the production side, we can complete a short drama project of over 100 minutes in just about two months," said Yu Xin, a person in charge of a company based at the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City AI Creation Ecosystem Center.

Located in Songjiang District, the Shanghai Science and Technology Film City houses over 8,000 film and TV enterprises, forming a full-chain AI ecosystem that covers computing power, data, models, and application scenarios.

"The AI Creation Ecosystem Center has attracted more than 50 companies over the past year and secured over 50 million yuan in commercial commissions. Moving forward, we will provide support not only in terms of computing power and funding but also through talent-related policies," said Zhao Huiying, director of the Songjiang District Culture and Tourism Bureau.

Shanghai drives 'film plus technology' with AI ecosystem