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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern about slow action to combat climate change,

He told governments at UN talks in Lima yesterday there was no 'time for tinkering' and urged a radical shift to greener economies.

Ban said there was still a chance of limiting global warming to an internationally agreed ceiling of 2°C (3.6°F) above pre-industrial times to limit more floods, droughts and rising sea levels.

Putting on the pressure: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has expressed deep concern about slow action to combat climatechange,He told governments at UN talks in Lima yesterday there was no 'time for tinkering' and urged a radical shift to greener economies

'But the window of opportunity is fast narrowing,' he told delegates from about 190 nations, who are working on a deal to limit rising world greenhouse gas emissions.

'This is not a time for tinkering; it is a time for transformation,' he said. Despite signs of progress, 'I am deeply concerned that our collective action does not match our common responsibilities.'

'We must act now,' he added.

Ban welcomed signs of action, such as more businesses favouring carbon markets, and a day of marches in September that he said mobilised hundreds of thousands of people in the streets 'from Manhattan to Mumbai to Melbourne'.

'Irreversible': A recent IPCC report found that global warming is already here, man-made and increasingly likely that the heating trend could be irreversible. Pictured are the likely impacts throughout the world

He also welcomed pledges by developed nations totalling almost £6.4 billion ($10 billion) to a new Green Climate Fund,

The pledges are due to help developing nations cut emissions and adapt to climate changes that will put pressure on food and water supplies.

He called on countries which have not yet pledged 'to consider making an ambitious financial commitment in Lima.' 

Australia is the only major developed nation which has not contributed to the fund, preferring to focus on domestic initiatives.

Ban urged developed nations to 'meet and exceed' a goal set in 2009 of mobilising at least £64 billion ($100 billion) a year, in both public and private finance, by 2020 to help developing nations.

The Lima talks are trying to work out draft elements of a deal for Paris next year, but face numerous fault lines about what should be included.

EXTREME WEATHER HAS BECOME MORE COMMON IN THE PAST 30 YEARS

Average global temperatures for 2014 have been higher than average and may even break previous records

Heatwaves and prolonged spells of freezing weather have become more common over the past three decades, according to scientists.

Researchers at the University of East Anglia found that extreme weather conditions have been occurring more frequently in the past 30 years compared to a 130 year average.

It comes as meteorologists have said that 2014 is on track to the be warmest year on record.

Figures published by the Met Office predicted that the global mean temperature for 2014 is 0.01°C warmer than 2010, currently the warmest on record at 14.50°C (58.12°F)

This is despite much of the northern hemisphere being plunged into temperatures well below freezing in January as North America was hit by an Arctic polar vortex.

According to the latest findings from the University of East Anglia's climatic research unit, temperatures in the northern hemisphere have been more volatile than in the southern hemisphere.

Professor Scott Robeson, from Indiana University, who also took part in the study, said: 'Arguably, these cold extremes and warm extremes are the most important factors for human society.'

He added that the study could help to explain the 'pause' in global warming since 1998 that was reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last year.

Many developing nations, for instance, want a target of cutting world greenhouse gas emissions to a net zero by 2050. 

Opec nations, worried about loss of income from a shift to renewable energy, favour much vaguer long-term goals.

A recent IPCC report found that global warming is already here, man-made and increasingly likely that the heating trend could be irreversible.

Global warming, it says, is impacting 'all continents and across the oceans,' and further pollution from heat-trapping gases will raise the likelihood of severe impacts for mankind.

The report says if the world continues to spew greenhouse gases at its accelerating rate, it's likely that by mid-century temperatures will increase by about another 2°C (3.6°F) compared to temperatures from 1986 to 2005.

And by the end of the century, that scenario will bring temperatures that are about 3.7°C (6.7°F) warmer.

Ban Ki-moon (centre) welcomed signs of action, such  a day of marches in September that he said mobilised hundreds of thousands of people in the streets'from Manhattan to Mumbai to Melbourne'