Climate change has triggered a trail of extreme weather and record heat by 2024, the United Nations said Monday, urging the world to steer clear of the “road to ruin.”
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Climate change brings extreme weather and heat in 2024: UN
Geneva (AFP) - Climate change has brought a trail of extreme weather and record heat in 2024, the United Nations said Monday, urging the world to steer clear of the “road to ruin.”
According to the UN's weather and climate agency, the coming year is expected to be the hottest on record, ending a decade of unprecedented heat.
Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emissions have grown to new records, trapping more heat for the future, said the World Meteorological Organization.
“Climate change manifests itself before our eyes almost daily in the form of increased occurrence and impact of extreme weather events,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“This year, we have seen record rainfall and flooding events and terrible loss of life in so many countries, causing heartbreak to communities on every continent.”
“Tropical cyclones have caused terrible human and economic damage, most recently in the French overseas department of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean.
“Intense heat has scorched dozens of countries, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) on several occasions. Forest fires have caused devastation.”
'Climate collapse'
The 2015 Paris Climate Accords aimed to limit global warming to less than two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and, if possible, to 1.5C.
In November, the WMO said that the average surface air temperature from January to September was 1.54°C above the pre-industrial average measured between 1850 and 1900.
This puts 2024 comfortably on track to surpass the record set in 2023.
Last year, temperatures were 1.45°C higher than before the Industrial Revolution, when humanity began burning large quantities of fossil fuels.
The WMO will publish the consolidated global temperature figure for 2024 in January, with the full State of the Global Climate 2024 report to be published in March.
In his New Year's message, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reflected on the record-breaking temperatures of the last decade.
“Today, I can officially report that we have just gone through a decade of deadly heat. The 10 hottest years on record have occurred in the last 10 years, including 2024,” he said.
“This is climate collapse in real-time.
“We need to get off this road to ruin - and we have no time to lose,” he said.
“By 2025, countries must put the world on a safer path by drastically reducing emissions and supporting the transition to a renewable future.
“This is essential, and it is possible.”
2025, with a focus on the frozen world
Saulo said that she had repeatedly warned about the climate situation throughout 2024.
“If we want a safer planet, we need to act now,” she said.
Experts from 15 international organizations, 12 countries, and several leading figures from the academic and NGO world met at WMO headquarters in Geneva from 17 to 19 December to develop a coordinated framework to tackle the growing threats of extreme heat.
The WMO turns 75 in 2025 and intends to celebrate the anniversary by focusing on the cryosphere: the frozen parts of the Earth, including sea ice, ice sheets, and frozen ground.
The WMO is also behind a major push to improve climate services and early warning systems.
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