In a recent report, the United Nations highlighted that climate change has caused severe weather and record temperatures in 2024, potentially making it the hottest year on record. The World Meteorological Organization noted that greenhouse gas emissions have reached new highs, worsening future warming conditions. UN officials have urged immediate action to reduce emissions and support the transition to renewable energy to avoid further environmental degradation.
In a stark warning regarding the climate crisis, the United Nations has revealed that climate change initiated extreme weather patterns and unprecedented heat in 2024, marking it as potentially the warmest year on record. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) confirmed that the previous decade has experienced alarming levels of heat, with greenhouse gas emissions reaching new heights, further exacerbating future warming.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo remarked on the daily manifestations of climate change through increasingly severe weather events globally, highlighting record rainfall, flooding, and devastating tropical cyclones, notably in Mayotte, an overseas French territory in the Indian Ocean. The year was also characterized by intense heat, with temperatures exceeding 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in several regions, alongside rampant wildfires causing catastrophic destruction.
The ambitions set forth in the 2015 Paris climate accords aimed to limit global warming to below two degrees Celsius, and ideally to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Nevertheless, preliminary assessments indicate that the global temperature average from January to September in 2024 is already 1.54 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, indicating that this year may likely exceed the record previously set in 2023.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in his New Year message, reflected on the extreme temperature trends over the past decade, affirming that the last ten years have seen the hottest temperatures ever documented. He emphasized the urgency, stating, “We must exit this road to ruin — and we have no time to lose.”
Looking ahead, Guterres urged countries to significantly reduce emissions and transition towards renewable energy sources by 2025, asserting that such actions are both essential and feasible. The WMO is expected to release detailed climate data, including the global temperature figures for 2024, in their upcoming reports.
The warning by the United Nations concerning climate change is timely, given the dramatic shifts in weather patterns experienced globally. This year has seen a continuity of the extreme weather events characterized by intense heatwaves, catastrophic rainfall, and consequent natural disasters. The existing frameworks, such as the Paris climate agreement, aim to mitigate the impacts of these changes by setting specific temperature goals, yet current trends suggest a deviation from these targets if decisive action is not taken soon.
In summary, 2024 has been marked as a pivotal year in the narrative of climate change, with record high temperatures and extreme weather phenomena. The dire warnings from UN officials underscore the immediate need for global action to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Without urgent intervention to transition to a sustainable future, the planet is likely to face even more catastrophic consequences from climate change.
Original Source: www.bangkokpost.com
