The annual U.N. General Assembly meeting is opening as world leaders arrive in New York, with diplomats describing a globe in massive turmoil.

In interviews ahead of the meeting, current and former ministers, ambassadors and officials from across the world painted a stark picture of the crises facing the international community. According to the source, there is not much diplomats can agree on these days, but when asked about the state of the world, heads of state and government and ministers alike describe deep turmoil. Two escalating wars are raging in Europe and the Middle East, the global economy is in flux, and the world order is shifting. Leaders are arriving to an outlook that the source says is massively different from this time last year.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters recently that world leaders will be gathering "in an era of deep uncertainty." He said power is shifting, the world is changing, and institutions must change with it.