This year, weather, water, and climate-related disasters such as extreme flooding, heat, and drought affected millions of people and cost billions of dollars as the tell-tale signs and effects of human-caused climate change intensified. This will be the tenth year in a row that temperatures have risen by at least one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The possibility of temporarily exceeding the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C limits is increasing over time. WMO will promote a new method of monitoring carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide sinks and sources.
This allows for a better understanding of how key greenhouse gases act in the real atmosphere. Sea level, ocean heat content, and acidification are all at all-time highs. Since 1993, the rate of sea-level rise has more than doubled. China experienced the most widespread and long-lasting heatwave in recorded history. Large parts of Europe were subjected to repeated bouts of extreme heat.
On July 19, the United Kingdom set a new national record. Rainfall in East Africa has been below average for four consecutive wet seasons. This precipitated a major humanitarian crisis that affected millions of people.
