– Greenhouse gas emissions are at a record high. Global temperatures are at record highs. Sea level rise is at a record high. The ice in Antarctica is at a record low. It’s a deafening cacophony of broken records. That’s what Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) says. They have today published a new climate report for the year 2023. Like most other status updates on climate change, there is not much positive to be gained. Read the key points here: The planet is too hot World leaders, scientists and journalists gathered on Thursday in Dubai for the annual climate summit, COP28, under the auspices of the UN. There is also research leader at Ciecero, Jan S. Fuglestvedt, who has looked at the report from the WMO. – This WMO report joins the series of reports that show how serious the situation is, says Fuglestvedt. The WMO’s report states that 2023 will be the warmest year ever recorded. EXTREME HEAT: A mother tries to provide shade for her child, while Brazil experiences the hottest temperatures ever in the month of November_ Photo: Reuters Fuglestvedt believes we are on the way to putting a special year behind us. A year that has broken climate records, accompanied by extreme weather that has left a trail of destruction and despair, according to the WMO. – Although we should not focus on individual years alone when we assess how we are in relation to the Paris ambitions, it is clear that the trends and the overall picture we now see are very worrying, says Fuglestvedt. Annual deviation from global normal temperature compared to the average in the period 1991-2020 +0.5°C compared to normal? Click for explanation normal temperature18801900192019401960198020002020 Go to news’s Climate Status Why are most years blue and colder than normal? This is because all years are now compared with a new normal, i.e. the average weather in the 30-year period 1991-2020. These 30 years have been unusually warm. Most other years are therefore colder than normal. Until recently, researchers used a normal period that ran from 1961-1990. In these years it was relatively cold. It’s been quite a while since the 1960s and the new normal allows us to compare the weather with the climate (normal) that people actually experience today. The normal period is determined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and is used in all countries . In this way, we can compare the weather in Norway with other countries and we can measure changes across the globe. How can you calculate one temperature for the whole world? This number is the result of a complicated calculation. Measurements are made with thermometers both on land and on the sea surface (at sea the thermometers are attached to buoys). In some places the thermometers are close together, in other places they are far apart. Using a statistical method, the researchers are able to give the measurements different weights, so that all areas are equally important: The data used in this graph comes from the American NOAA. They have divided the globe into squares of 5° x 5° and calculate one temperature for each square. Then they can again work their way up to a global figure, for each month or for each year. They can also make figures for the temperature only over the ocean or only over land, or for the northern and southern hemispheres. The lines at the poles are smaller than along the equator due to the curvature of the globe. The researchers also take this into account in their calculations. Others, such as NASA or the Hadley Centre, calculate in slightly different ways than NOAA. Therefore, there are often small differences between the various data sets. In any case, the trend they show is the same: since 1880, the world has become warmer. Part of the reason for the record year 2023 is the weather phenomenon El Niño, according to the WMO. El Niño Unlike La Nina, El Niño is a condition of unusually high surface temperature in the central and eastern Pacific near the equator. The driving force behind El Niño is the link between the ocean and the atmosphere. – What we are observing is a sum of natural variations and man-made warming, and the effect of El Niño will come on top of the man-made warming, explains Fuglestvedt. According to the report, there is a shift from La Nina in 2022 to El Niño in 2023, which probably explains some of the temperature increase from 2022 to 2023. – El Niño has had an impact on this year’s global temperature, but we must be prepared for this effect to be stronger next year, says Fuglestvedt. A sense of hope Although the climate report mostly presents grim facts, it does sense a small glimmer of hope. UN Secretary-General António Guterres states that we have a “road map” to avoid the worst “climate chaos”. – But we need leaders to fire the starting gun at COP28 in a race to keep the 1.5 degree limit alive, says Guterres. SERIOUS: Climate scientist Jan Fuglestvedt says WMO’s climate report paints an even more serious overall picture than previous climate reports. Photo: Cicero In addition, the report states that the renewable energy capacity increased by 10 per cent in 2023. Mainly led by solar and wind power. Fuglestvedt believes the challenge will be to adapt to a changing climate, at the same time that emissions must be cut sharply to reduce warming – The question of crossing a 1.5 degree temperature rise is not to be or not to be. There is still hope that we can slow down man-made warming and reduce the effects this has on current and future generations, he says. – What significance will the report have for the climate summit in Dubai? – It is hard to say. But what we get to report here is a very strong reminder of how we stand on a global scale and that we have caused severe disturbances to the climate system that have and will continue to have a great impact on people, nature and infrastructure, says Fuglestvedt.
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2023 has broken several climate records – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
