State of the Global Climate in 2022 : WMO
Recently the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released ‘The State of the Global Climate 2022’ report.
- This annual report provides information on climate indicators such as temperature, ocean warming, sea level rise, extreme weather.
- This report serves as a complement to the Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC.
- WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations. 193 countries and territories are its members. India is also its member.
Key findings of report:
- The global average temperature in 2022 was 1.15°C higher than the 1850–1900 average.
- The eight years between 2015 and 2022 have been warm on record, despite a cooling effect caused by the La Nina phenomenon during the last three years.
- The concentrations of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide – are set to reach record levels in 2021.
- Overall, at least one marine heat-wave event is recorded during 2022 over 58% of the ocean surface.
- The global average rate of sea level rise doubled between 1993 – 2002 (2.27 mm/year) and 2013–2022 (4.62 mm/year).
Socioeconomic and Environmental Impact:
- In the pre-monsoon season of 2022, crop yields declined in India and Pakistan due to heat waves.
- Recent assessments around the Tibetan Plateau have found that the temperate zone is expanding here due to global warming.
- Significantly, the Tibetan Plateau has the largest reserves of snow and ice outside the Arctic and Antarctic regions.
- In East Africa, the last five wet seasons have recorded below average rainfall, the longest such period in 40 years.
Source – The Hindu
