The UN weather agency raises the alarm on global warming

2024-03-23 19:50:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The United Nations weather agency is raising the alarm about global warming, citing record increases last year in greenhouse gases, global warming and melting glaciers. The World Meteorological Organization warns in its "State of the Global Climate" report that global efforts to reverse climate change trends have been insufficient.

The World Meteorological Organization's latest climate report highlights concerns about global targets to limit the planet's temperature rise to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The period from March 2023 to February 2024 saw temperature rise beyond the limit, reaching an average of 1.56 degrees Celsius, according to the European Meteorological Agency, Copernicus.

According to the World Meteorological Organization, by the end of the year, 90% of the oceans faced a heat wave. Glaciers that have been monitored since the 1950s saw record deposit losses. Antarctic ice reached its lowest levels ever.

"The long-term trend driven by greenhouse gases is raising global temperatures, warming oceans and melting glaciers," said John Kennedy, a scientist with the United Nations' weather agency and lead author of the State of the Global Climate report. .

In a statement coinciding with the report, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the human cost as a result of extreme weather caused by global warming.

“The impact is harsh and brutal with a deadly force. The report details extreme weather around the world through 2023 and the impact left by the devastating effects. Thousands dead and millions displaced. Devastation in the agricultural sector and huge economic losses. Climate change has devastating impacts on sustainable development."

The report says that during 2023, about 330 million people faced extreme food insecurity, which may have also been affected by the pandemic. This figure before the pandemic was about 149 million people. According to the report, it seems clear that extreme weather played a major role in the displacement of the endangered population. The report says heat waves, floods, droughts and fires caused chaos and misery for millions of people around the world.

Growing renewable energy by around 50% by 2022 is "a glimmer of hope", according to the report, which says financial contributions to the global fund to help vulnerable countries adapt to climate change are insufficient.

The report says that the global fund reached 63 billion dollars in 2022, while it estimates that by 2030 developing countries will need 212 billion dollars./ VOA