2019 marks the end of warmest decade on record, world warmer by 1.1°C: WMO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

2019 marks the end of warmest decade on record, world warmer by 1.1°C: WMO.

• The 25th COP kicked off in Madrid on Monday and will conclude on 13 December
• The ocean heat was at record levels this year and tropical cyclone activity globally was also above average

Signalling a climate crisis, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Tuesday said 2019 marks the end of warmest decade on record with global average temperatures about 1.1 °C above the pre-industrial period.
According to WMO, concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which had hit a record level of 407.8 parts per million (ppm) in 2018, continued to rise in 2019. Carbon dioxide lasts for centuries in the atmosphere and the oceans, thus locking in climate change.
“If we do not take urgent climate action now, then we are heading for a temperature increase of more than 3°C by the end of the century. We are nowhere near on track to meet the Paris Agreement target," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. The agreement calls for limiting the global average temperature rise this century to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C.
The provisional statement on the ‘State of the Global Climate 2019’ was in the backdrop of the United Nations (UN)’s key meet on climate change- 25th Conference of Parties COP- underway in Madrid, Spain, with delegates from 200 countries including India set to engage in climate change negotiations.
The WMO said Asia remained the world’s most disaster displacement-prone region due to both sudden and slow-onset disasters. The heat waves and floods which used to be “once in a century" events are becoming more regular occurrences.
According to the report, 7 million internal displacements were recorded between January and June 2019 which were triggered by hazard events which also included displacements caused by Cyclone Fani which hit Odisha coast in May and was the strongest tropical cyclone to hit the state since 1999.
The ocean heat was at record levels this year and tropical cyclone activity globally was also above average. The northern hemisphere, till date in 2019, has had 66 tropical cyclones compared with the average at this time of year of 56. “So far in 2019, the ocean has on average experienced around 1.5 months of unusually warm temperatures and the sea-levels continue to rise," said Tallas.
Erratic rainfall patterns dominated global climate, posing a threat to crop yields and thus food security in vulnerable countries. The report also highlighted how the onset and withdrawal of the Indian monsoon were delayed, causing a large precipitation deficit in June but an excess of precipitation in the following months.
The 25th COP kicked off in Madrid on Monday and will conclude on 13 December. The Indian delegation would be led by Union Minister for Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Prakash Javadekar. (Source: livemint)


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2019 marks the end of warmest decade on record, world warmer by 1.1°C: WMO.

'Earth may be experiencing warmest decade on record' - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

'Earth may be experiencing warmest decade on record' .

The decade from 2014 to 2023 could end up being the warmest in over 150 years of records, say scientists who predict that the global average surface temperature for the next five years will be one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels

The figures released by the UK Met Office include data from a number of sources including the latest publication of provisional figures for 2018. Records for annual global average temperature extend back to 1850.
"2015 was the first year that global annual average surface temperatures reached 1.0 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels and the following three years have all remained close to this level," said Adam Scaife, Head of Long-Range Prediction at the Met Office in the UK.
"The global average temperature between now and 2023 is predicted to remain high, potentially making the decade from 2014 the warmest in more than 150 years of records," said Scaife.
Averaged over the five-year period 2019-2023, forecast patterns suggest enhanced warming is likely over much of the globe, especially over land and at high northern latitudes, particularly the Arctic region.
"A run of temperatures of 1.0 degree Celsius or above would increase the risk of a temporary excursion above the threshold of 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels," said Doug Smith, a research fellow at Met Office.
"Predictions now suggest around a 10 per cent chance of at least one year between 2019 and 2023 temporarily exceeding 1.5 degree Celsius," Smith said.
2018 is cited to be the fourth warmest year on record globally. It follows 2015, 2016 and 2017, which are the three warmest years in the 169-year record.
The effects of climate change are not limited to surface temperature. Warming of the climate system is seen across a range of climate indicators that build a picture of global changes occurring across the land, atmosphere, oceans and ice. (Source: The Economic Times)


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'Earth may be experiencing warmest decade on record'

2018 set to be fourth warmest in 138-yrs of climate record keeping: Report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

2018 set to be fourth warmest in 138-yrs of climate record keeping: Report.

If the current trend continues we may see temperature increases 3-5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, says report.

2018 is set to be the fourth warmest on record, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) which found that extreme weather this year due to climate change left a trail of devastation across the globe, including in India.
The long-term warming trend has continued in 2018, with the past four years being the warmest in 138-years of climate record keeping.
Other tell-tale signs of climate change, including sea level rise, ocean heat and acidification and sea-ice and glacier melt continue, whilst extreme weather caused devastation on all continents, according to a WMO statement.
For example, in August, Kerala suffered the worst flooding since the 1920s, displacing more than 1.4 million people from their homes and affecting more than 5.4 million.
Major wildfires affected Athens (Greece) on 23 July, with many fatalities. British Columbia in Canada broke its record for the most area burned in a fire season for the second successive year.
California suffered devastating wildfires, with November's Camp Fire being the deadliest fire in over a century for the US.
The WMO report shows that the global average temperature for the first ten months of the year was nearly 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline (1850-1900).
This is based on five independently maintained global temperature data sets.
"We are not on track to meet climate change targets and rein in temperature increases," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
"Greenhouse gas concentrations are once again at record levels and if the current trend continues we may see temperature increases 3-5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. If we exploit all known fossil fuel resources, the temperature rise will be considerably higher," he said.
"It is worth repeating once again that we are the first generation to fully understand climate change and the last generation to be able to do something about it," said Taalas.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius reported that the average global temperature for the decade 2006-2015 was 0.86 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline.
The average increase above the same baseline for the most recent decade 2009-2018 was about 0.93 degrees Celsius and for the past five years, 2014-2018, was 1.04 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline.
"Every fraction of a degree of warming makes a difference to human health and access to food and fresh water, to the extinction of animals and plants, to the survival of coral reefs and marine life," said WMO Deputy Secretary-General Elena Manaenkova.
"It makes a difference to economic productivity, food security, and to the resilience of our infrastructure and cities," said Manaenkova.
"It makes a difference to the speed of glacier melt and water supplies, and the future of low-lying islands and coastal communities. Every extra bit matters," said Manaenkova.
The WMO report adds to the authoritative scientific evidence that will inform UN climate change negotiations from December 2-14 in Katowice, Poland.
The key objective of the meeting is to adopt the implementation guidelines of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which aims to hold the global average temperature increase to as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius. (Source:The Business Standard)


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2018 set to be fourth warmest in 138-yrs of climate record keeping: Report.