There is a “high probability” that 2024 will have a lot to offer in its turn high temperature Last year just ended a decade of record high temperatures that pushed the planet “to the brink of disaster”, it warned on Tuesday 19/3. UN.
“2023 set new records for every indicator,” said the Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO/WMO). Selete Saulopresents a climate report.
A new report from the World Meteorological Organization, a UN agency, shows that temperature records were broken and in some cases blown last year for greenhouse gas levels, surface temperatures, heat content (energy absorbed and stored) and ocean acidification. , sea level rise, Antarctic sea ice extent and glacier retreat.
“We can’t say for sure, but I’d say there’s a good chance that 2024 will break 2023’s record again.” Omar BadurThe head of the climate monitoring service of the World Meteorological Organization during the press conference on the occasion of the presentation of the annual climate report.
The last decade is the hottest on record, leading to unprecedented ice melt in 2023, the UN warned today.
“Climate changes are not only limited to temperature.
“What we see in 2023, especially the unprecedented warming of the oceans, the retreat of glaciers and the loss of sea ice volume in Antarctica, are of the greatest concern,” the WMO Secretary General said in commenting on the publication. annual climate report.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a video message that “while fossil fuel pollution is causing an unprecedented climate chaos,” the planet is “on the brink of destruction” and “there is still time to throw a lifeline to the population.” and on the planet”.
The report confirms that 2023 was the hottest year on record, with average land surface temperatures 1.45°C above pre-industrial levels.
“Every part of global warming affects the future of life on Earth,” warned the UN chief.
“Red Alert”
The climate crisis is a crucial challenge facing humanity and “is inextricably linked to the crisis of inequality, as evidenced by increasing food insecurity and biodiversity loss,” said the UN Secretary-General.
A rapid increase in heatwaves, floods, droughts, wildfires and tropical cyclones is spreading “misery and chaos”, disrupting the daily lives of millions of people and causing economic losses of several billion dollars, the UN warns.
After all, this is the warmest decade on record (2014-2023) and exceeds the 1850-1990 average by 1.20 degrees.
In the long term, the increase in global temperature is due to the increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which will reach a record level in 2022.
According to the UN, the arrival of El Niño in mid-2023 has also led to a rapid increase in temperatures.
“El Nino is weakening, but it’s here to stay. In the next three months, we expect above-normal temperatures for the season in most parts of the planet,” Saulo warned.
“We have never been closer to the lower limit set by the Paris Agreement on climate change of 1.5°C, albeit temporarily.”
“The global meteorological community is alerting the whole world and sounding the alarm: we are on red alert,” he said.
“Oceans and Glaciers”
Last year, almost a third of all oceans were affected by a marine heat wave.
According to the UN, by the end of 2023, more than 90% of the world’s oceans will experience heat waves at some point in the year.
An increase in the frequency and intensity of marine heat waves has profound negative effects on marine ecosystems and coral reefs.
Also, global mean sea level reached a record high in 2023, reflecting continued ocean warming (thermal expansion) as well as melting of glaciers and ice sheets.
A worrying sign is that in the last decade (2014-2023), the growth rate of this average level has been more than double that of the first decade (1993-2002).
Glaciers around the world have suffered their biggest retreat on record since 1950, after extreme melting in western North America and Europe, according to preliminary reports.
However, according to the WMO, there is a “glow of hope”: renewable energy generation capacity in 2023 has increased by almost 50% year-on-year, the highest rate seen in two decades.
“That’s why, Saulo, investing in the energy transition in Africa can benefit the whole world, not just Africa. So, I think we have a solution here.”