The Wieczorek mine in Katowice, with its towering brick shaft, is among dozens closing down throughout Poland, home to one of the most polluted coal mining regions in Europe.

From Sunday, Katowice will host a round of United Nations climate talks, at which nearly 200 countries will attempt to agree rules on how to shift the world economy from fossil fuels to try to curb rising temperatures.

The meeting comes as the World Meteorological Organization warned on Thursday that global temperatures were on course to rise by 3-5 degrees Celsius (5.4-9.0 degrees Fahrenheit) this century, overshooting a global target of limiting the increase to 2C.