The world climate conference COP27, which started in Egypt, has been overshadowed by several crises, including in the fields of energy and food. COP27 Chairman, Egyptian Foreign Minister Samih Schukri (70), said this year’s conference is part of a 30-year journey since the signing of the Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992. Sheikh on Sunday. Lessons must be learned from devastating climate events in Pakistan, Africa, Europe and parts of the Americas. Regarding the climate negotiations, Schukri said, “There will be no winners in zero-sum games.”
Extreme weather events are becoming more frequent, sea levels are rising, climate-harming greenhouse gases are increasing in the atmosphere and are further increasing global warming. At the start of the COP27 world climate conference in Egypt, the World Weather Organization (WMO) released a report providing a preliminary overview of the state of the global climate.
heat
The last eight years have been the hottest on record, according to the assessment. The global average temperature was recently estimated to be around 1.15 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average. Weather event La Niña brought temperatures down a bit, so 2022 will be included in the statistics as only the fifth or sixth-warmest year since records began – but it’s only a matter of time before a new year of warmer records begins, according to the report. will be measured.
The La Niña weather event, which occurs every few years, lowers the global average temperature as the upper water layers of the tropical eastern Pacific cool unusually.
extreme weather conditions
Heatwaves, droughts and floods have affected millions of people this year and cost billions. By mid-year, up to 19.3 million people were affected by, among other things, insecure or inadequate access to food due to extreme prolonged droughts in East Africa. Floods in Pakistan claimed at least 1,700 lives and displaced nearly eight million people from their homes.
According to the report, WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas said the people least responsible for climate change, particularly in the Global South, suffer the most. But other regions have also been hit by extremes this year – Europe or southern China, for example, with massive heat waves, as well as periods of extreme drought that nearly dry up major rivers.
glacier
The melting of glaciers has accelerated this year. Average ice thickness losses of three to four meters in the Alps were measured, significantly higher than the previous record in 2003.
The Greenland ice sheet has melted for the 26th year in a row, and in August 2021, it rained instead of snow for the first time on the ice sheet’s highest point. The volume of glaciers in Switzerland has decreased by a third over the past two decades. “For many glaciers it is now too late, and melting will continue for hundreds if not thousands of years, with major implications for water resources,” Taalas said. Said.
sea level
The rate of sea level rise has doubled since 1993. Since January 2020 alone, sea level has risen by almost 10 millimeters, reaching a new record level. The increase over the past two and a half years is ten percent of the total increase over the past 30 years observed using satellite measurements. This acceleration is mainly due to melting ice. This is a huge threat to coastal areas and low-lying states.
greenhouse gases
The concentration of the most important greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) – reached a new peak in the past calendar year, and the methane increase was greater than ever before. The concentration of all three gases in the atmosphere continued to rise in the current year.
“We have such high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that reaching the 1.5 degree target is nearly impossible,” says WMO Secretary-General Taalas. The higher the global warming, the worse the effects.
According to climate researchers, global warming must be stopped at 1.5 degrees in order to pass dangerous tipping points and prevent the most disastrous consequences of climate change. The international community has agreed on this goal, but it is far from sufficient to implement it politically. (SDA/chs)
Source : Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
