US President Joe Biden delivers 'code red' climate plea

President Joe Biden has visited a New York City still reeling from Hurricane Ida’s wrath, touring hard-hit sections of New Jersey and Queens and speaking with locals before issuing an urgent plea for action to combat climate change.

“Even the climate skeptics are seeing that this really does matter,” the president, who had donned Ray-Ban Aviators, said in a speech from a low-lying residential section of East Elmhurst, where he greeted locals.

“The evidence is clear: Climate change poses an existential threat to our lives and our economy. And the threat is here. It’s not going to get any better.”

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Six days after an unprecedented deluge drowned the city, turning subway tunnels into rivers and basement homes into deadly traps, Biden expressed hopes that the hazards can be blunted.

At the same time, he predicted that dangerous storms are only going to worsen and that the nation must brace itself for the impact.

“The nation and the world are in peril,” Biden said. “This is Code Red.”

On Monday, Biden approved a major disaster declaration for parts of New York City, allowing the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pump out direct cash relief to storm victims.