A video clip shared on Twitter by a reporter for The Washington Post newspaper, shows US President listening to a speaker at the COP26 climate change summit in Glasgow on Monday, but a few seconds later he shuts his eyes and apparently falls asleep as the speech continues.

The video shows an aide coming up to Mr Biden after a few seconds and saying something to him. He then opens his eyes and then rubs them as he resumes listening to the speech. The President then applauds after the speech concludes.

"Biden appears to fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches," wrote The Washington Post reporter Zach Purser Brown while sharing the video on Twitter.

Biden appears to fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches pic.twitter.com/az8NZTWanI

— Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) November 1, 2021

According to several media reports, the incident occurred after an hour of opening speeches. The video has been widely circulated on social media and has elicited a lot of criticism as the speech was a pre-recorded message from South African disability rights activist Eddie Ndopu.