The United Nations global climate summit, COP30, only delivered modest progress on its campaign to slow global warming. The unintentional symbolism, though, was extraordinary: on Thursday, the convention location itself had to be evacuated after a massive fire broke out.

The event, hosted in Belém, Brazil at the threshold of the Amazon rainforest, was in its second to last day of proceedings when the flames prompted an evacuation, according to Heatmap. In a feat of cosmic irony, the “blue zone” — where only official delegates, journalists, and world leaders were allowed — was forced to evacuate at around 2pm local time.

“We’ve been evacuated due to a fire — not exactly sure how the day is going to continue,” a journalist with Heatmap was told via text.

Video uploaded by the New York Tim

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