Climate: the last eight years have been the hottest on record
This new document from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) thus confirms its predictions for last November, described by UN chief Antonio Guterres as a “chronicle of climate chaos”.
The eight warmest years on record globally are the result of “steadily increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and stored heat,” according to this report of six major international temperature data sets grouped by the World Conservation Organization.
Globally, it ranks fifth last year, only to be defeated in recent years and marked once again by the course of extreme events that show the consequences of global warming.
According to the World Trade Organization, the probability of temporarily exceeding the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Climate Agreement is increasing over time.
Scenario of the cooling effect of La Nina in January-March 2023
“Record heat waves were observed in China, Europe, North and South America. The ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa threatens to cause a humanitarian disaster,” said Petteri Taalas, Secretary General of the World Trade Organization in a statement.
Despite the cooling effect of the La Nina weather phenomenon, 2022 is “about 1.2 degrees Celsius” warmer than it was between 1850 and 1900, before the industrial revolution affected the climate, the UN agency says.
Additionally, WMO’s El Niño/La Niña update shows that there is about a 60% chance of La Niña remaining through January-March 2023, followed by ENSO conditions. neutral (neither El Niño nor La Nina). ).
Overall, the ten-year average temperature for 2013-2022 is 1.14 degrees Celsius higher. [1,02 à 1,27] °C in pre-industrial reference 1850-1900. This figure compares with the 1.09°C recorded between 2011 and 2020, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) sixth assessment report, and indicates continued long-term warming.
Dramatic climate disasters
According to the World Conservation Organization, global warming and other long-term climate change trends are expected to continue due to record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Extreme heat waves, devastating droughts and floods have affected millions of people and cost billions this year, according to the report.
In addition to temperatures, the report notes, the planet has been hit by an avalanche of extreme events: historic floods in Pakistan after an exceptional spring heat wave, heat waves and mega-forest fires in Western Europe, and summer heat waves in the center and east. China, devastating floods in several African countries, drought in the Horn of Africa, etc.
“In 2022, we faced several dramatic weather disasters that claimed too many lives and livelihoods and undermined health, food, energy and water security and infrastructure,” Mr. Taalas added, also recalling the devastating floods in Pakistan.
The final climate report will be published in April 2023
In addition, the end of 2022 was marked by severe storms that affected large areas of North America.
“There is a need to improve preparedness for such extreme events and ensure that the UN’s goal of early warning for all is reached within the next five years,” the head of the UNO stressed, noting that only half of the 193 members have an appropriate early warning system.
The Paris Agreement, concluded in 2015 under the auspices of the UN, aims to limit warming to well below 2 degrees, and if possible to 1.5 degrees. In order to achieve this, the countries of the world must fulfill the goals of reducing greenhouse gases.
However, every decade since the 1980s has been warmer than the previous one: “This trend should continue,” according to the UN agency in Geneva.
Note that the temperature indicators will be included in the final report of the World Protection Organization on the state of the climate in 2022 and will be published on Earth Day in April 2023.
