Never have the concentrations of greenhouse gases, sea levels, the heat of the oceans as well as their acidification been so high, according to the state of the world’s climate in 2021, published on Wednesday in Geneva by the Meteorological Organization. World (WMO). These indicators are expected to deteriorate further in the coming years, according to an official from the UN agency.
Likewise, extreme weather events have resulted in hundreds of billions of dollars in economic costs and many casualties. They should increase further until the 2060s, even if the required efforts are made.
“The war in Ukraine has taken precedence over the IPCC report but climate change remains the most important challenge” for the world, WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas told reporters. The “short-term focus is on energy and food prices,” he said. However, he notes that this situation could lead, in the best case scenario, to a reduction in energy consumption and an acceleration in the purchase of electric vehicles.
According to the organization’s report, the year 2021 has indeed been one of the seven hottest on record. The situation could have been even worse had it not been for two periods of cold La Niña currents at the beginning and end of the year.
The average temperature is 1.1° C higher than in the pre-industrial period. Last week, the WMO said there is a one in two chance it will temporarily be 1.5°C above this for at least one of the next five years.
Call of Guterres
“It’s only a matter of time before we see the hottest new year,” Taalas said. Greenhouse gases will warm the climate for generations, he also adds. And the glaciers are threatened. Especially in Switzerland where only 5% of them could survive by 2100.
Anticipating disasters has saved people, but more remains to be done. The WMO is working to make alerts possible for everyone within five years, as requested by Mr. Guterres. Currently, only half of the countries have such systems.
The WMO is to pilot a plan to be approved in November at the COP, but it estimates it will take $1.5 billion over the next five years. As well as a system for strengthening the monitoring of greenhouse gases.
In a video, Mr. Guterres called for five concrete actions. He calls for renewable energy technologies to be seen as a public good, wanting a global coalition, and for the supply of raw materials for them to be expanded and diversified.
Governments must facilitate the approval of these green energies and abandon subsidies for non-renewable energies. Investments in renewables must be multiplied by three to reach 4000 billion dollars per year.
Canadian glaciers largely affected
Among the indicators, the concentrations of greenhouse gases had reached a record in 2020, with that of CO2 established at 413.2 parts per million (ppm). The pandemic had not had a significant effect on them. However, preliminary WMO data from several countries shows that concentrations have continued to rise last year and this year.
Another indication is that almost all oceans experienced temperature anomalies last year. They also absorb less CO2 from the atmosphere.
Over the past ten years, the level of the oceans has increased by 4.5 mm per year on average, a significant acceleration. This situation extends the effects of cyclones. For their part, the American and Canadian glaciers have largely retreated last year due to the heat waves in these regions. The floods have affected some countries, while others in Africa are facing severe droughts.
The combination of conflict, the pandemic and extreme weather situations has undermined decades of gains in food security. The number of countries threatened by famine has increased. Many people have been forced to flee their homes. And ecosystems are deteriorating at an unprecedented rate, the organization also adds.