The World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) issued a stark warning on Tuesday, stating that 2024 could be on track to shatter existing global climate records, following a year that saw every significant worldwide climate record broken. Ocean temperatures and decreasing sea ice are notably causing distress to the organisation’s head, with the highest average temperatures recorded in almost two centuries – a hefty 1.45 degrees above pre-industrial standards.
The report also disclosed that 90% of sea bodies experienced heatwave settings in the past year, resulting in the warmest ocean temperatures in 65 years and adversely affecting food supply systems. WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo, appointed in January, sounded an alarm, stating that the climatic changes witnessed in 2023, particularly the out-of-the-ordinary ocean heat, shrinking glaciers, and loss of sea ice in Antarctica, are alarming. Saulo further expressed concern over the oceanic heat, which she mentioned as virtually irreversible and could take thousands of years to reverse.
Saulo ascribed this worrying trend to the heat-holding capability of water, which supersedes that of the atmosphere. The record-breaking conditions in 2023 were fuelled by climate change resulting from fossil fuel consumption, as well as the advent of the El Nino natural climate phenomenon. Omar Baddour, WMO’s head of climate observation, forecasted a high likelihood of 2024 setting new heat records, acknowledging that the year following an El Nino is usually hotter.
The report divulged a drastic drop in Antarctic sea ice, a cool million km2 below the previous record – roughly the size of Egypt. This occurrence, combined with expanding water due to ocean warming, has more than doubled the sea-level rise rate over the past ten years compared to the period from 1993-2002. The North Atlantic contained most of the ocean heat, with temperatures averaging 3 degrees above the norm in late 2023. Consequently, a significant impact has been made on vulnerable marine ecosystems, with numerous species of fish migrating north from the warmer waters in search of cooler habitats.
Saulo, an Argentine meteorologist dedicated to improving international alert systems for climate catastrophes, has expressed her desire that the report brings attention to the crucial necessity of accelerating and intensifying climate change initiatives. She alluded to the urgency of the situation as a “red alert”, emphasising the need for humanity to appreciate the increasing regularity and severity of these weather anomalies. Saulo warned that failing to act would exacerbate the conditions further, and responsibility for such a scenario would fall on our shoulders. This commentary was provided by Reuters. The report also disclosed that only seven nations fulfil the air quality standards set by the World Health Organisation.