Tag: WMO

Extreme weather and climate change impacts hit Africa hard

Stuart Mitchell

The average surface temperature across Africa in 2024 was approximately 0.86 °C above the 1991–2020 long-term average. North Africa recorded the highest temperature (1.28°C above the 1991-2020 average) and this is the sub-region of Africa which is warming fastest. Extreme heat hit many parts of the continent during 2024, affecting agriculture, labour productivity and disrupting education. Sea surface temperatures were the highest on record, ahead of 2023. Particularly large increases in sea surface temperatures have been observed in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Almost the entire ocean area around…

Read More

WMO report documents spiralling weather and climate impacts

Stuart Mitchell

The clear signs of human-induced climate change reached new heights in 2024, with some of the consequences being irreversible over hundreds if not thousands of years, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which also underlined the massive economic and social upheavals from extreme weather.  Key messages Key climate change indicators again reach record levels Long-term warming (averaged over decades) remains below 1.5°C Sea-level rise and ocean warming irreversible for hundreds of years Record greenhouse gas concentrations combined with El Niño and other factors to drive…

Read More

UNESCO and WMO Launch the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation 2025:

Stuart Mitchell

UNESCO and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have officially launched the International Year of Glaciers’ Preservation on January 21st, 2025, marking a crucial milestone in global efforts to protect these essential water towers that provide freshwater to over 2 billion people worldwide. Numerous activities and events during the year will seek to  raise global awareness about the critical role of glaciers in the climate system and hydrological cycle, while addressing the urgent challenges posed by accelerated glacier melting. A Critical Moment for Earth’s Cryosphere More than 275,000 glaciers worldwide cover…

Read More

Greenhouse gas concentrations surge again to new record in 2023

Stuart Mitchell

In the course of 2023, large vegetation fire CO2 emissions and a possible reduction in carbon absorption by forests combined with stubbornly high fossil fuel CO2 emissions from human and industrial activities to drive the increase, according to the WMO’s annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin. The globally-averaged surface concentration of CO2 reached 420.0 parts per million (ppm), methane 1 934 parts per billion and nitrous oxide 336.9 parts per billion (ppb) in 2023. These values are 151%, 265% and 125% of pre-industrial (before 1750) levels, it said. These are calculated on…

Read More

WMO report highlights growing shortfalls and stress in global water resources

Stuart Mitchell

The year 2023 marked the driest year for global rivers in over three decades, according to a new report coordinated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which signaled critical changes in water availability in an era of growing demand.  The last five consecutive years have recorded widespread below-normal conditions for river flows, with reservoir inflows following a similar pattern. This reduces the amount of water available for communities, agriculture and ecosystems, further stressing global water supplies, according to the State of Global Water Resources report. Glaciers suffered the largest mass…

Read More