SOCHI, October 21. /TASS/. Natural cataclysms have become "almost a norm" in the modern world and it is impossible to deny climate deformations and the degradation of the environment today, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"Climate deformation and degradation of the environment have become so apparent that even the most careless bystanders cannot brush them aside. We can keep having scientific discussions about the mechanisms of the ongoing processes, but it is impossible to deny that these processes worsen and that something must be done about it. Natural disasters - droughts, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis - have become almost a norm," he said.
He noted the devastating floods in Europe and wildfires in Siberia this year.
"Examples are quite numerous. Not in Siberia alone - our neighbors in Turkey had serious wildfires, and the US and the American continent in general," he added.
"Any geopolitical, scientific, technological, ideological competition - in such circumstances it sometimes appears pointless, if its winners will have no air to breathe or nothing to quench their thirst with," the head of state said.