The annual report issued by the World Meteorological Organization, which was published Friday, stated that climate change continued its creep in 2022, as droughts, floods and heat waves affected societies on all continents, costing them several billion dollars.
Sea ice in Antarctica has fallen to an all-time low, and the melting of some European glaciers has been unprecedented. In terms of global temperature, the years from 2015 to 2022 were the eight hottest years on record, reports Al-Rai daily.
Glacier melt and sea level rise, which reached record levels in 2022, will continue for thousands of years, the report said.
“As greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase and climate change continues, populations around the world continue to be deeply affected by extreme weather and climate events,” said Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization.
The report indicated that throughout the year, dangerous weather conditions and weather-related events led to a new displacement of the population, and conditions worsened for many of the 95 million people already in displacement since the beginning of the year.
Accompanying the new WMO report is an event map, providing information for policymakers on how climate change indicators are working, and showing how improved technology is making the transition to renewable energy cheaper and easier than ever.
“We need to accelerate climate action with deeper and faster emissions cuts to keep the global temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement Friday.
He continued, “We also need a significant increase in investments in adaptation and resilience, especially for the most vulnerable countries and societies, which are the least responsible for causing the crisis.”
