The United Nations meteorological agency issued a “red alert” on Tuesday, warning that the Earth is at risk of exceeding global warming limits following last year’s record temperatures and other environmental changes.
The latest report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Released on Tuesdayconfirmed that 2023 was the warmest year on record, averaging 1.45 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial standards.
Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, the world agreed to try to limit future global warming to a baseline of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), but this is a long-term temperature measure, not a single month or year. It’s for the sake of it.
WMO’s findings have a margin of uncertainty of about 0.12 degrees Celsius, meaning the Earth may already have reached its global warming limits.
“We have never been this close to reaching the Paris Climate Agreement lower limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius, albeit temporarily at this time,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Sauro. “The WMO community is sounding an emergency alert to the world.”
Other records pointing to increases in greenhouse gases, ocean heating and acidification, sea level rise, loss of Antarctic sea ice and retreat of glaciers have also been broken, and in some cases “shattered,” according to WMO.
Sauro said climate change is “more than temperature” and that these factors are “a cause for particular concern”.
WMO noted that on an average day in 2023, about a third of the world’s oceans were affected by marine heatwaves, deteriorating vital ecosystems and food systems. Preliminary data shows extreme melting in both western North America and Europe has led to the largest ice loss on record since 1950 in reference glaciers and the smallest Antarctic sea ice loss on record. .
“Sirens are sounding across all major indicators. Some records will not only top the charts, but others will destroy them,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres. “And change is accelerating.”
WMO also acknowledged that all hope is not lost, pointing to the recent increase in renewable energy production.
“Renewable energy generation, driven primarily by solar radiation, wind power, and the dynamic forces of the water cycle, is moving to the forefront of climate action because of its potential to meet decarbonization goals,” the report said. The book says:
Their findings follow a series of other similar reports confirming record-breaking temperatures in 2023. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed that January 2023 was the hottest single year on record, with average land and ocean temperatures reaching 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit last year, close to the 20th century average.
The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Agency confirmed this in January, saying it was “likely” that the Paris climate agreement heat threshold would be exceeded during the 12-month period ending in either January or February.
The report will arrive a few days in advance. Copenhagen Climate Ministerabout 40 climate change leaders and ministers will gather in Denmark to discuss climate action.
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