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	Global Stocktake report: "A truly damning report card for global climate efforts" by UN News, UNFCC, World Resources Institute   Governments are failing to cut greenhouse gas emissions fast enough to meet the goals of the Paris Climate agreement and avoid disastrous climate impacts, a major report by the UN has found.   The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) released the Global Stocktake synthesis report, which offers the most comprehensive overview of climate action since the Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015, as well as a roadmap for governments moving forward.   The COP28 summit in Dubai, UAE, will center around how countries leverage the findings of the Global Stocktake report to keep the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C alive and address the impacts of climate change. The report highlights that global greenhouse gas emissions are still rising.   UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: “The climate crisis is worsening dramatically – but the collective response is lacking in ambition, credibility, and urgency.. Half-measures will not prevent full climate breakdown”.   The UNFCCC report comes nearly eight years after countries finalized the Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep global temperature rise this century below 1.5°C, relative to preindustrial levels.   "The global stocktake was designed under the Paris agreement to assess our global response to the climate crisis and chart a better way forward," the UNFCCC explained Friday. The new synthesis report summarizes 17 key technical findings from the discussions.   "I urge governments to carefully study the findings of the report and ultimately understand what it means for them and the ambitious action they must take next," said U.N. Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell. "It's the same for businesses, communities, and other key stakeholders. While the catalytic role of the Paris agreement and the multilateral process will remain vital in the coming years, the global stocktake is a critical moment for greater ambition and accelerating action."   University College London professor of climatology Mark Maslin says the report "makes it clear that the Paris agreement was a game-changer" but also countries' greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction pledges are not in line with the 1.5°C target.   "The U.N. estimates that we need to reduce global GHG emissions by 43% by 2030 and further by 60% by 2035 compared to 2019 levels and reach net-zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 globally," Maslin explains. "This is a big ask given that greenhouse gas emissions were at their highest level ever in 2022."   "All the technology exists to undergo the net-zero transformation, we need big increases in renewables and batteries, we need everything to happen five times faster," he added.   “Achieving net zero CO2 and greenhouse gas emissions requires systems transformations across all sectors and contexts, including scaling up renewable energy while phasing out all unabated fossil fuels, ending deforestation, reducing non-CO2 emissions and implementing both supply and demand side measures,” reads key finding 6 of the Global Stocktake report.   The report states underlines that there is a “rapidly narrowing window” to implement existing commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.   Global greenhouse gas emissions must peak by 2025 and drop sharply thereafter to keep the 1.5C target in view, the stocktake said, drawing from a scientific assessment by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).   The stocktake also highlights the need to rapidly and radically scale up financial support to developing nations so they can adapt to climate-amplified weather disasters.   A number of African nations are dealing with high debt burdens, and are being impacted by worsening droughts, floods, heatwaves and storms.   Ani Dasgupta, President, World Resources Institute:   “The United Nations’ polite prose glosses over what is a truly damning report card for global climate efforts. Carbon emissions? Still climbing. Rich countries’ finance commitments? Delinquent. Adaptation support? Lagging woefully behind.   “This report is a wake-up call to the injustice of the climate crisis and a pivotal opportunity to correct course. We already knew the world is failing to meet its climate goals, but leaders now have a concrete blueprint underpinned by a mountain of evidence for how to get the job done.   “There are a few bright spots worth celebrating, such as the rapid uptake of renewable energy and electric vehicles in recent years. And numerous countries have rallied behind net-zero goals and passed important climate legislation. But overall, the report finds there are more gaps than progress – gaps that can only be erased by transformational change across systems like energy, food, land and transport.   “The future of our planet depends on whether national leaders use this stark assessment as a catalyst for bold systems transformation.   “At COP28, leaders must rally behind a response plan that accelerates action at a pace and depth not seen before. Critical steps include rapidly shifting away from fossil fuels toward renewable energy and fossil-free transport, transforming our food systems and boosting resilience. Wealthy nations need to provide far more funding to help developing countries transition to a better economy — one that lifts people out of poverty and ensures people can withstand floods and droughts, all while protecting nature and sharply reducing emissions.   “Success at COP28 hinges on whether governments respond to the Global Stocktake report not with words but through bold new commitments that steer humanity from our current destructive path.”   http://news.un.org/en/story/2023/09/1140527 http://unfccc.int/documents/631600 http://www.wri.org/news/statement-uns-global-stocktake-report-offers-damning-report-card-global-climate-effort http://www.wri.org/insights/explaining-global-stocktake-paris-agreement http://www.reuters.com/business/environment/un-says-more-needed-on-all-fronts-meet-climate-goals-2023-09-08/ http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/62087/global-stocktake-paris-climate-agreement-goals-greenpeace-comment/ http://climatenetwork.org/2023/09/09/civil-society-reactions-to-the-g20-summit-statement-from-new-delhi-india/ http://fossilfueltreaty.org/g20-fossilfuels http://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/g20-countries-failing-big-margins-cut-greenhouse-gas-emissions-below-catastrophic   http://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/earth-had-hottest-three-month-period-record-unprecedented-sea-surface http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/reporting-state-climate-2022 http://public.wmo.int/en/our-mandate/climate/wmo-statement-state-of-global-climate http://www.ipcc.ch/reports/ http://www.un.org/en/climatechange/speeches http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/urgent-action-states-needed-tackle-climate-change-says-un-committee-guidance http://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2023/08/about-our-human-rights-us-youths-win-landmark-climate-case http://insideclimatenews.org/news/08092023/experts-warn-of-denialism-comeback-ahead-of-cop28-global-climate-talks/   Oct. 2023   As climate threats escalate funding to support those most vulnerable is imperative   Climate-related extreme weather events are happening all over the world with the poorest and most marginalized the worst impacted.   Countries and communities, disproportionately those in the developing world, are being severly impacted by floods, droughts and cyclones, and suffering the consequences of a steady sea-level rise.   They are paying the price of the rich historical emitters and those who continue to expand fossil fuels, further exacerbating the crisis.   The writing is on the wall, countries have gone past the point where adaptation alone can arrest the climate impacts. Losses and damages are happening with ever growing economic and non-economic costs.   The unfortunate reality is all of this is expected to worsen because collective efforts to limit global warming are falling short.   This means that development in the global South will be further eroded, and its people, who are least responsible for the crisis, will bear the brunt of it — through displacement, loss of infrastructure, lives, and livelihoods.   Countries and communities incurring significant costs associated with climate change-induced loss and damage need and deserve as a matter of justice urgent financial support.   The world can no longer afford to delay in assisting developing countries and communities experiencing catastrophic losses and damages from climate events.   170 Humanitarian, Climate and Development organisations issue a joint call to demand Loss and Damage Funding:   In an era marked by the increasingly palpable ramifications of climate change, the interplay between its impacts and humanitarian crises has intensified.   Marginalised and vulnerable communities in the developing countries, despite their minimal contribution to climate adversities, find themselves grappling not only with the direct climatic and environmental consequences of climate change but also with a myriad of pre-existing humanitarian and developmental challenges.   These communities are also confronting both historical and systemic inequalities, underscoring the urgent need for climate justice.   At COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh in 2022, a landmark agreement was forged, establishing a fund and funding arrangements to provide crucial financial support to address loss and damage.   It is vital for the humanitarian, development, peace, human rights, and climate communities to operate in tandem. Their unified voice is crucial in ensuring the delivery of loss and damage finance to the affected communities.   By fostering collaboration, we can secure a more holistic, comprehensive, and effective approach, reinforcing our commitment to safeguarding the rights, protection, dignity, and livelihoods of those most affected by the multifaceted challenges of climate change.   We are witnessing and enduring the repercussions of human-induced climate change everywhere, yet the impacts are disproportionately burdening those least responsible for causing the climate crisis, and it is only poised to worsen.   The scale, frequency, and duration of climate-related extreme weather events are escalating, presenting new challenges due to slow onset processes such as sea level rise, loss of biodiversity, and the accelerating pace of desertification, all of which demand attention.   While communities, domestic responders, and humanitarians are at the frontlines of this crisis, the overwhelming and escalating needs far surpass their capacities to absorb and recover from shocks. Moreover, the existing humanitarian financing system is ill-equipped to adequately respond to multiple and compounding climate impacts.   To address both economic and non-economic loss and damage arising from slow-onset processes and rapid-onset events, there is a need for a substantial increase in finance and in national capacities, through the Loss and Damage Fund, which can be accessed by countries and communities promptly.   This is crucial to prevent communities from unjustly suffering the current, immediate, and prolonged ill-effects of human-induced climate change. Consequently, additional resources are essential to address loss and damage, thereby complementing the role played by the humanitarian system.   We are joining together to support the urgent calls for loss and damage finance under the UNFCCC based on four priorities: access, adequacy, additionality, and accountability.   Access: All developing countries necessitate and are entitled to loss and damage finance based on the principles of equity, justice and human rights. Special attention must be accorded to ensure that particularly marginalised and climate-vulnerable communities and individuals, on the frontline today and in the future, are able to access the loss and damage finance they need, as directly as possible.   This must align with Grand Bargain commitments on localisation. Access should also be flexible, multi-year, timely, transparent, equitable and administratively light in the context of rapid-onset and slow-onset impacts.   Adequacy: Climate change is indisputably costly, with the annual costs already amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars in developing countries. As the frequency, scale, and duration of climate-induced extreme weather events and impacts of slow-onset events escalate, more and more people will continue to be affected in ways that surpass their capacity to fully recover from these recurrent calamities.   Therefore, substantial financial resources are not merely desirable; they are essential. This includes fulfilling commitments for new and additional climate finance and addressing the shortfall in humanitarian finance. It is crucial that loss and damage finance is appropriately scaled to fully cover both the economic and non-economic costs of rehabilitation and reconstruction for affected communities.   As climate threats escalate, prioritising substantial, timely, and accessible funding to support those most vulnerable to climate change is more than a moral duty – it’s an existential imperative.   http://climatenetwork.org/2023/10/12/humanitarian-climate-and-development-organisations-issue-a-joint-call-to-demand-the-loss-and-damage-fund/ http://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-the-fight-over-the-loss-and-damage-fund-for-climate-change/ http://unctad.org/publication/taking-responsibility-towards-fit-purpose-loss-and-damage-fund http://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/news/2023/11/06/history-made-terms-agreed-loss-and-damage-fund-cop28 http://insideclimatenews.org/news/03112023/loss-and-damage-talks-cast-shadow-on-climate-conference/ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/03/un-climate-crisis-talks-resume-loss-damage-funding-poorest-countries http://climatenetwork.org/2023/08/29/new-loss-and-damage-fund-must-deliver-climate-justice/ http://climatenetwork.org/updates/press-releases/   http://www.iied.org/tackling-loss-damage-vulnerable-countries-improving-evidence-co-generating-pathways-impact http://www.iied.org/21891iied http://www.lossanddamagecollaboration.org/publication/the-global-stocktake-and-loss-and-damage-the-outcome-we-need-at-cop-28-to-create-a-roadmap-for-the-world-we-want http://www.lossanddamagecollaboration.org/publication/the-loss-and-damage-finance-landscape http://taxonslessuperprofits.carefrance.org/en/ http://www.ciel.org/loss-and-damage-fund-tc1/
	Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide levels reach new world record by WMO, United Nations News, agencies   Nov. 2023   2023 on track to be the hottest year on record, report European climate scientists.   “We can say with near certainty that 2023 will be the warmest year on record, and is currently 1.43C above the pre-industrial average,” says Samantha Burgess, the deputy director of the Copernicus Climate Change Service. “The sense of urgency for ambitious climate action has never been higher.”   Copernicus found the average global mean temperature between January and October 2023 was the highest on record. When data from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is considered, "then we can say that this is the warmest year for the last 125,000 years," she told Reuters news agency.   The Copernicus Climate Change Service found that October was the hottest ever documented, with an average surface air temperature of 15.3°C—0.85°C higher than the 1991-2020 average and 0.40°C above the previous record from 2019.   October also set a new record for average sea surface temperature and "marked the sixth consecutive month that Antarctic sea ice extent remained at record low levels for the time of year."   Copernicus Climate Change Service director Carlo Buontempo told Bloomberg news service that "the difference between the temperature of this October and the average temperature of October in the last 30 years is extraordinarily large, much larger than the anomaly of any of the other years that were record-breaking."   "We are already in uncharted territory," he warned. "We are already experiencing a climate that we have never seen in our life or in our history."   Deputy director Samantha Burgess noted that the "exceptional temperature anomalies" of last month follow "four months of global temperature records being obliterated."   Responding to the report, Imperial College London climatologist Friederike Otto stressed that "I think the most important thing to highlight here is that this is not just another record or another big number. The fact that we're seeing this record hot year means record human suffering."   "Within this year, extreme heatwaves and droughts made much worse by these extreme temperatures have caused thousands of deaths, people losing their livelihoods, being displaced, etc. These are the records that matter," Otto added. "That is why the Paris agreement is a human rights treaty, and not keeping to the goals in it is violating human rights on a vast scale."   http://climate.copernicus.eu/copernicus-october-2023-exceptional-temperature-anomalies-2023-virtually-certain-be-warmest-year http://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/earths-hottest-12-month-streak-2023 http://www.climatecentral.org/report/the-hottest-12-month-stretch-in-recorded-history-2023   Sep. 2023   Earth had hottest three-month period on record, with unprecedented sea surface temperatures and extreme weather. (World Meteorological Organization, agencies)   Earth just had its hottest three months on record, according to the European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service. Global sea surface temperatures are at unprecedented highs for the third consecutive month and Antarctic sea ice extent remains at a record low for the time of year.   It was the hottest August on record – by a large margin – and the second hottest ever month after July 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. August as a whole is estimated to have been around 1.5°C warmer than the preindustrial average for 1850-1900.   The year so far (January to August) is the second warmest on record behind 2016, when there was a powerful warming El Nino event.   August as a whole saw the highest global monthly average sea surface temperatures on record across all months, at 20.98°C. Temperatures exceeded the previous record (March 2016) every single day in August.   Antarctic sea ice extent remained at a record low level for the time of year, with a monthly value 12% below average, by far the largest negative anomaly for August since satellite observations began.   A report in May from WMO and the UK's Met Office predicted that there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record and a 66% chance of temporarily exceeding 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average for at least one of the five years.   “Our planet has just endured a season of simmering -- the hottest summer on record. Climate breakdown has begun. Scientists have long warned what our fossil fuel addiction will unleash. Surging temperatures demand a surge in action. Leaders must turn up the heat now for climate solutions. We can still avoid the worst of climate chaos – and we don’t have a moment to lose,“ said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.   “The northern hemisphere just had a summer of extremes – with repeated heatwaves fuelling devastating wildfires, harming health, disrupting daily lives and wreaking a lasting toll on the environment. In the southern hemisphere Antarctic sea ice extent was literally off the charts, and the global sea surface temperature was once again at a new record. It is worth noting that this is happening before we see the full warming impact of the El Nino event, which typically plays out in the second year after it develops” said World Meteorological Organization Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.   http://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/reporting-state-climate-2022 http://public.wmo.int/en/media/press-release/climate-change-undermines-nearly-all-sustainable-development-goals http://public.wmo.int/en/resources/united-in-science-2023   27 July 2023 (Copernicus and WMO)   According to the EU Copernicus Climate Change Service, the first three weeks of July have been the warmest three-week period on record and the month is on track to be the hottest July and the hottest month on record.   These temperatures have been related to heatwaves in large parts of North America, Asia and Europe, which along with wildfires in countries including Canada and Greece, have had major impacts on people’s health, the environment and economies.   On July 6, the daily average global mean surface air temperature surpassed the record set in August 2016, making it the hottest day on record, with July 5 and July 7 shortly behind. The first three weeks of July have been the warmest three-week period on record. Global mean temperature temporarily exceeded the 1.5° Celsius threshold above preindustrial level during the first and third week of the month.   Since May, the global average sea surface temperature has been well above previously observed values for the time of the year; contributing to the exceptionally warm July. It is extremely likely that July 2023 will be the hottest July and also the hottest month on record, following on from the hottest June on record.   "We don’t have to wait for the end of the month to know this. July 2023 will shatter records across the board", said United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. According to the data released today, July has already seen the hottest three-week period ever recorded; the three hottest days on record; and the highest-ever ocean temperatures for this time of year".   "For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe – it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster. And for scientists, it is unequivocal – humans are to blame. All this is entirely consistent with predictions and repeated warnings", said Mr Guterres.   “The extreme weather which has affected many millions of people in July is unfortunately the harsh reality of climate change and a foretaste of the future,” said World Meteorological Organization’s Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas. “The need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is more urgent than ever before. Climate action is not a luxury but a must.”   WMO predicts that there is a 98% likelihood that at least one of the next five years will be the warmest on record and a 66% chance of temporarily exceeding 1.5°C above the 1850-1900 average for at least one of the five years.   http://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/press-encounter/2023-07-27/secretary-generals-press-conference-climate http://www.worldweatherattribution.org/extreme-heat-in-north-america-europe-and-china-in-july-2023-made-much-more-likely-by-climate-change/ http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-66256101 http://www.columbia.edu/~jeh1/mailings/2023/ClimateDice.13July2023.pdf http://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/22/g20-countries-fail-to-reach-agreement-on-cutting-fossil-fuels http://climatenetwork.org/2023/06/23/paris-summit-fails-to-raise-the-bar-on-truly-transforming-global-finance/ http://climatenetwork.org/2023/06/15/civil-society-reacts-to-bonn-climate-conference/   4 July 2023   World registers hottest day ever recorded on July 3. (Reuters, news agencies)   Monday, July 3, was the hottest day ever recorded globally, according to data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction.   The average global temperature reached 17.01 degrees Celsius (62.62 Fahrenheit), surpassing the August 2016 record of 16.92C (62.46F) as heatwaves sizzled around the world.   The southern U.S. has been suffering under an intense heat dome in recent weeks. In China, an enduring heatwave continued, with temperatures above 35C. North Africa has seen temperatures near 50C.   And even Antarctica, currently in its winter, registered anomalously high temperatures. Ukraine's Vernadsky Research Base in the continent's Argentine Islands recently broke its July temperature record with 8.7C (47.6F).   "This is not a milestone we should be celebrating," said climate scientist Friederike Otto of the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment at Britain's Imperial College London. "It's a death sentence for people and ecosystems."   Scientists said climate change, combined with an emerging El Nino pattern, were to blame.   "Unfortunately, it promises to only be the first in a series of new records set this year as increasing emissions of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases coupled with a growing El Nino event push temperatures to new highs," said Zeke Hausfather, a research scientist at Berkeley Earth, in a statement.   "The average global surface air temperature reaching 17C for the first time since we have reliable records available is a significant symbolic milestone in our warming world," said climate researcher Leon Simons.   "Now that the warmer phase of El Nino is starting we can expect a lot more daily, monthly and annual records breaking in the next 1.5 years."   Monday's record temperature comes as the month of June was confirmed as the hottest June in the global record. Average temperatures across the planet were 1.46C above the average in the period between 1850 and 1900.   "Chances are that July will be the warmest ever, and with it the hottest month ever: 'ever' meaning since the Eemian which is some 120,000 years ago," said Karsten Haustein, from the University of Leipzig.   http://www.reuters.com/business/environment/climate-nears-point-no-return-land-sea-temperatures-break-records-experts-2023-06-30/ http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-023-38906-7 http://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01132-6 http://insideclimatenews.org/news/04072023/june-extremes-climate-tipping-points/ http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements/2023/07/addressing-climate-change-now   June 2023   Carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA’s Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory peaked at 424 parts per million (ppm) in May, continuing a steady climb further into territory not seen for millions of years, scientists from NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego announced today.   Measurements of carbon dioxide (CO2) obtained by NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory averaged 424 parts per million in May, the month when CO2 peaks in the Northern Hemisphere. That represents an increase of 3.0 ppm over May 2022.   Scientists at Scripps Oceanography, which maintains an independent record, calculated a May monthly average of 423.78 ppm. That increase is also a jump of 3.0 ppm over the May 2022 average reported by the Scripps CO2 Program.   “Sadly we’re setting a new record,” said Scripps Oceanography geoscientist Ralph Keeling, who oversees the iconic Keeling Curve record established by his father 65 years ago. “What we’d like to see is the curve plateauing and even falling because carbon dioxide as high as 420 or 425 parts per million is not good. It shows as much as we’ve done to mitigate and reduce emissions, we still have a long way to go.”   CO2 levels are now more than 50% higher than they were before the onset of the industrial era.   “Every year we see carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere increase as a direct result of human activity,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Every year, we see the impacts of climate change in the heat waves, droughts, flooding, wildfires and storms happening all around us. While we will have to adapt to the climate impacts we cannot avoid, we must expend every effort to slash carbon pollution and safeguard this planet and the life that calls it home.”   CO2 pollution is generated by burning fossil fuels for transportation and electrical generation, by cement manufacturing, deforestation, agriculture and many other practices. Like other greenhouse gases, CO2 traps heat radiating from the planet’s surface that would otherwise escape into space, amplifying extreme weather events, such as heat waves, drought and wildfires, as well as precipitation and flooding.   Rising CO2 levels also pose a threat to the world's ocean, which absorbs both CO2 gas and excess heat from the atmosphere. Impacts include increasing surface and subsurface ocean temperatures and the disruption of marine ecosystems, rising sea levels and ocean acidification, which changes the chemistry of seawater, leading to lower dissolved oxygen, and interferes with the growth of marine organisms.   * May 24: The Keeling Curve reported a new record daily concentration of 426.72 ppm.   http://scripps.ucsd.edu/news/broken-record-atmospheric-carbon-dioxide-levels-jump-again http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/04/20/upshot/carbon-dioxide-growth.html http://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/global.html http://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/mlo.html#mlo http://research.noaa.gov/2024/04/05/no-sign-of-greenhouse-gases-increases-slowing-in-2023/   Apr. 2023   From mountain peaks to ocean depths, climate change continued its advance in 2022, according to the annual report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).   Droughts, floods and heatwaves affected communities on every continent and cost many billions of dollars. Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest extent on record and the melting of some European glaciers was, literally, off the charts.   The State of the Global Climate 2022 shows the planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere caused by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.   For global temperature, the years 2015-2022 were the eight warmest on record despite the cooling impact of a La Nina event for the past three years. Melting of glaciers and sea level rise - which again reached record levels in 2022 - will continue to up to thousands of yea   “While greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the climate continues to change, populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events. For example, in 2022, continuous drought in East Africa, record breaking rainfall in Pakistan and record-breaking heatwaves in China and Europe affected tens of millions, drove food insecurity, boosted mass migration, and cost billions of dollars in loss and damage,” said WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.   Throughout the year, hazardous climate and weather-related events drove new population displacement and worsened conditions for many of the 95 million people already living in displacement at the beginning of the year, according to the report.   The report also puts a spotlight on ecosystems and the environment and shows how climate change is affecting recurring events in nature, such as when trees blossom, or birds migrate.   The WMO State of the Global Climate report was released ahead of Earth Day 2023. Its key findings echo the message of UN Secretary-General António Guterres for Earth Day.   Mr. Guterres warned that “biodiversity is collapsing as one million species teeter on the brink of extinction”, and called on the world to end its “relentless and senseless wars on nature”.   “We have the tools, the knowledge, and the solutions. We need accelerated climate action with deeper, faster emissions cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius. We also need massively scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities who have done the least to cause the crisis,” said Mr Guterres.   The years 2015 to 2022 were the eight warmest years on record. Concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – reached record highs in 2021. Real-time data from specific locations show levels of the three greenhouse gases continued to increase in 2022. The annual increase in methane concentration from 2020 to 2021 was the highest on record.   The European Alps smashed records for glacier melt. Measurements on glaciers in High Mountain Asia, western North America, South America and parts of the Arctic all reveal substantial glacier mass losses. Sea ice in Antarctica dropped to 1.92 million km2 on February 25, 2022, the lowest level on record.   Ocean heat content reached a new observed record high in 2022. Global mean sea level (GMSL) continued to rise in 2022, reaching a new record high.   Ocean acidification: CO2 reacts with seawater resulting in a decrease of pH referred to as ‘ocean acidification’. Ocean acidification threatens organisms and ecosystem services. “There is very high confidence that open ocean surface pH is now the lowest it has been for at least 26 thousand years and current rates of pH change are unprecedented since at least that time.   Drought gripped East Africa. Rainfall has been below-average in five consecutive wet seasons, the longest such sequence in 40 years. As of January 2023, it was estimated that over 20 million people faced acute food insecurity across the region, under the effects of the drought and other shocks.   Record breaking rain in July and August led to extensive flooding in Pakistan. There were over 1 700 deaths, and 33 million people were affected, while almost 8 million people were displaced. Total damage and economic losses were assessed at US$ 30 billion.   July (181% above normal) and August (243% above normal) were each the wettest on record nationally.   Record breaking heatwaves affected Europe during the summer. In some areas, extreme heat was coupled with exceptionally dry conditions. Excess deaths associated with the heat in Europe exceeded 15,000 in total across Spain, Germany, the UK, France, and Portugal.   China had its most extensive and long-lasting heatwave since national records began, extending from mid-June to the end of August and resulting in the hottest summer on record.   As of 2021, 2.3 billion people faced food insecurity, of which 924 million people faced severe food insecurity.   Heatwaves in the 2022 pre-monsoon season in India and Pakistan caused a decline in crop yields. This, combined with the banning of wheat exports and restrictions on rice exports in India after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, threatened the availability, access, and stability of staple foods within international food markets and posed high risks to countries already affected by shortages of staple foods.   In Somalia, almost 1.2 million people became internally displaced by the catastrophic impacts of drought on pastoral and farming livelihoods and hunger during the year. A further 512,000 internal displacements associated with drought were recorded in Ethiopia.   The flooding in Pakistan affected some 33 million people, including about 800,000 Afghan refugees hosted in affected districts. By October, around 8 million people have been internally displaced by the floods with some 585,000 sheltering in relief sites.   Environmental impacts of climate change are another focus of the report, which highlights a shift in recurring events in nature, “such as when trees blossom, or birds migrate”.   As a result of such shifts, entire ecosystems can be upended. WMO notes that spring arrival times of over a hundred European migratory bird species over five decades “show increasing levels of mismatch to other spring events”, such as the moment when trees produce leaves and insects take flight, which are important for bird survival.   The report says these mismatches “are likely to have contributed to population decline in some migrant species, particularly those wintering in sub-Saharan Africa”, and to the ongoing destruction of biodiversity.   Jan. 2023   Past eight years confirmed to be the eight warmest on record. (IFRC, WMO)   Last year ‘eighth in a row’ of temperatures above pre-industrial level, threatening Paris target of 1.5°C. (IFRC, Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre)   The past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fuelled by “ever-rising emissions and accumulated heat”, according to six international datasets consolidated by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and explained yesterday.   The WMO says the global temperature last year was 1.15°C above an 1850–1900 baseline, and 2022 was the eighth year in a row that it reached at least 1°C above pre-industrial levels, a press release from Geneva said.   “The likelihood of – temporarily – breaching the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement is increasing with time,” it added.   The persistence of a cooling La Niña, now in its third year, means that 2022 was not the warmest on record, but at least the sixth warmest nevertheless.   The WMO work shows a ten-year global average to 2022 of 1.14°C above the 19th century baseline, compared to the IPCC’s most recent figure 1.09°C for the decade to 2020, indicating that long-term warming continues.   WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said yesterday: “In 2022, we faced several dramatic weather disasters which claimed far too many lives and livelihoods and undermined health, food, energy and water security and infrastructure.   “Large areas of Pakistan were flooded, with major economic losses and human casualties. Record-breaking heatwaves have been observed in China, Europe, North and South America and drought in the Horn of Africa threatens a humanitarian catastrophe.   “There is a need to enhance preparedness for such extreme events and to ensure that we meet the UN target of early warnings for all in the next five years.”   The WMO said its provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report speaks of “record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere”, continuing to cause extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating floods, and affecting millions of people.   Responding to the latest figures on global temperature, IFRC Secretary General Jagan Chapagain said: “People around the globe are feeling the effects of our warming climate, and scientific data continues to reinforce this terrifying reality. Inclusive climate action, led by those most at risk, is key to combating the climate crisis".   Global warming and other long-term climate change trends are expected to continue because of record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Extreme heatwaves, drought and devastating flooding have affected millions and cost billions this year, according to the World Meteorological Organization’s provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022 report.   http://www.ifrc.org/article/last-year-eighth-row-temperatures-above-pre-industrial-level-threatening-paris-target
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