The UN weather agency issued a “red alert” on Tuesday, warning that the Earth is in danger of going beyond the global warming limit due to last year's record-breaking temperatures and other environmental changes.
The most recent report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was released on Tuesdayand confirmed that 2023 was the hottest year on record, with an average of 1.45 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline.
The world agreed in the 2015 Paris Agreement to try to limit future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius — 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. However, this is for long-term temperature measures and not for a single month or year.
The WMO's findings have a margin of uncertainty of about 0.12 degrees Celsius, which means it's possible that the Earth may have already reached the global heating limit.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo stated, “We have never been so close to the 1.5-degree Celsius lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change. The WMO community is alerting the world.”
The WMO pointed to an increase in greenhouse gases, ocean heat and acidification, sea level rise, a loss of Antarctic Sea ice, and glacier retreat, stating that other records have also been broken.
Saulo emphasized that climate change involves more than just temperatures and that these factors are cause for particular concern.
According to the WMO, about one third of the global ocean experienced a marine heatwave on an average day in 2023, which worsened crucial ecosystems and food systems. Reference glaciers had the largest loss of ice on record since 1950 due to extreme melting in western North American and Europe, and Antarctic Sea ice reached the lowest point on record.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said, “Major indicators are signaling danger. Some records are not just breaking, they're shattering. And changes are happening faster.”
The WMO acknowledged that there is still hope, pointing to recent increases in renewable energy production.
The report stated, “Renewable energy generation, primarily driven by solar radiation, wind, and the water cycle, has become a key part of climate action due to its potential to achieve decarbonization targets.”
Their findings align with a series of other similar reports confirming the record-breaking temperatures of 2023. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed reported that January 2023 was the hottest single year ever recorded, with average land and ocean temperatures reaching 2.12 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average.
The European Union Copernicus Climate Change Service also confirmed this in January and noted that it was “likely” that the 12-month period ending in either January or February will surpass the Paris Agreement heat threshold.
The report comes days before the Copenhagen Climate Ministerial , where about 40 climate leaders and ministers will gather in Denmark to discuss climate action.The United Nations weather agency gave a serious warning on Tuesday, saying that the Earth might go beyond the global warming limit because of the extremely high temperatures and other environmental changes that happened last year. The latest report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which came out on Tuesday, showed that 2023 was the warmest year ever, with an average temperature of 1.45 degrees Celsius…
