The World Meteorological Organization has warned that this year’s record-breaking heat is likely to continue into 2025, further accelerating climate change unless urgent action is taken to stop “human activities” being behind this looming disaster. If it goes wrong, it could have disastrous consequences.
According to the UN weather agency, 2024 is set to be the hottest year on record, “capped by a decade of unprecedented heat caused by human activities.”
“Greenhouse gas levels continue to rise to record highs, which will lead to even greater warming in the future,” the WMO said. The agency stresses the need for greater international cooperation to tackle the risks of extreme heat “as global temperatures rise, and extreme heat events become more frequent and severe.”
Celeste Saulo, who was appointed WMO Secretary-General in June 2023 and begins her four-year term in January 2024, said that in her first year in office she has “repeatedly issued red alerts about the state of the climate warned that “every fraction a degree of warming matters, and increases the impacts and risks of climate extremes.”
The WMO State of the Climate 2024 report found that the global average temperature between January and September was 1.54 degrees Celsius warmer than in pre-industrial times and above the level set in the 2016 Paris Agreement on climate change.
This year’s UN Environment Programme’s Emissions Gap Report warns that temperatures are likely to rise by 3.1 degrees Celsius by the end of the century if preventive action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
“Climate change plays out before our eyes on an almost daily basis in the form of the increasing occurrence and impact of extreme weather events,” Saulo said. “This year we have seen record-breaking rainfall and flooding events in many countries and catastrophic loss of life, leaving communities on every continent heartbroken,” he said.
Tropical Cyclone Chido, which hit the French territory of Mayotte in the Indian Ocean in mid-December and then headed towards Mozambique, has had a devastating impact on the lives and livelihoods of communities in its wake. However, the cyclone is just the latest of dozens of extreme weather events that have wreaked havoc around the world this year.
According to a new report from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central, climate change intensified 26 of the 29 extreme weather events studied, “causing at least 3,700 deaths and millions more displaced.”
“Climate change could lead to 41 more days of dangerous heat by 2024, causing harm to human health and ecosystems,” it said.
Extreme weather events have affected all regions of the world. Highlights include Hurricane Helene, which impacted the US state of Florida, causing massive flooding and wind damage.
Heavy rains in South America have caused severe floods and landslides. Heavy rains have caused deadly flooding in Europe, particularly Spain, and historic flooding across West and Central Africa, killing more than 1,500 people.
These and other areas have also been affected by severe wildfires and severe drought, causing hunger, irreparable suffering and damage as well as huge economic losses for countless millions of people.
“This is climate disruption in real time,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in his New Year message. “We have to get out of this path of destruction, and we have no time to lose.
“In 2024, countries must put the world on a safer path by dramatically cutting emissions and supporting the transition to a renewable future,” he said.
In response to the Secretary-General’s call for action on extreme heat, a group of experts from 15 international organizations, 12 countries, and several leading academic and NGO partners convened to advance a coordinated framework to address this growing threat. Met at WMO headquarters earlier this month. ,
The plan is one of several WMO initiatives aimed at protecting public health through better climate services and early warnings.
As the UN weather agency prepares to celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2025, WMO officials say they are committed to observing and monitoring climate conditions and supporting international efforts “to mitigate and adapt to climate change.” We will continue to coordinate worldwide efforts to support.
“Our message will be that if we want a safer planet, we have to act now,” WMO chief Saulo said. “This is our responsibility. This is a common responsibility, a global responsibility.”