By Alfred Koroma
Last year, 2023, was the hottest year on record, according to State of Global Climate report published by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The extreme weather and climate are either the root cause or serious aggravating factors that triggered displacement, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, health issues and other issues in 2023, according to the report which cites figures that the number of people who are acutely food insecure worldwide has more than doubled, from 149 million before the COVID-19 pandemic to 333 million in 2023 in 78 countries monitored by the World Food Programme (WFP).
Once again broken for greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, ice cover and glacier retreat. Heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and rapidly intensifying tropical cyclones caused misery and mayhem, upending every-day life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses, WMO State of the Global Climate 2023 report says.
The UN weather Agency confirmed last year was the warmest year on record, with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45 °Celsius.
“Sirens are blaring across all major indicators… Some records aren’t just chart-topping, they’re chart-busting. And changes are speeding-up.” United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres is quoted saying in a press statement published by WMO on Tuesday.
Presenting the report, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo urged for climate change response to be governed by the “welfare of future generations, but not the short-term economic interests”.
“The scientific knowledge about climate change has existed for more than five decades, and yet we missed an entire generation of opportunity,” She said. “As Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, I am now sounding the red alert about the state of the global climate.”
Data from specific locations also show a continued increase in concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide which reached record levels in 2022.
CO2 levels are 50 % higher than the pre-industrial era, trapping heat in the atmosphere. The long lifetime of CO2 means that temperatures will continue to rise for many years to come, WMO says.
However, Celeste Saulo said climate change is not just about air temperatures, but the unprecedented ocean warmth and sea level rise, glacier retreat and Antarctic sea ice loss, are also part of the grim picture.
According to the report, about one third of the global ocean was gripped by a marine heatwave on average day in 2023, harming vital ecosystems and food systems. And at the end of 2023, over 90% of the ocean had experienced heatwave conditions at some point during the year.
The Antarctic sea ice loss was by far the lowest on record – at one million square kilometres below the previous record year.
