The
UN announced on Thursday that this year is expected to be the hottest on record and called for immediate action to stop global warming and the devastation it causes.
The World Meteorological Organization of the UN issued a warning, stating that extreme weather had left "a trail of devastation and despair" and that 2023 had broken numerous climate records.
"Greenhouse
gas emissions are at all-time highs. The temperature is at a record high worldwide. The rise in sea level is record-high. Sea ice in Antarctica is at a record low.
Amid growing pressure to reduce greenhouse gas pollution that warms the planet, the WMO released its preliminary 2023 State of the Global Climate report as world leaders convened in Dubai for the UN COP28 climate conference.
United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said the record heat findings “should send shivers down the spines of world leaders."
Scientists warn that humanity is losing the ability to keep warming to a manageable level. The 2015 Paris Climate Accords set a target of keeping global warming well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and ideally 1.5°C.
However, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reported in its report that as of October 31, 2023, this year was already about 1.4C above the pre-industrial baseline and that the previous nine years had been the hottest since modern records began.
“We cannot return to the climate of the 20th century, but we must act now to limit the risks of an increasingly inhospitable climate in this and the coming centuries.”
The WMO warned that the warming El Nino weather phenomenon, which emerged mid-year, was “likely to further fuel the heat in 2024."
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