Last year was the hottest year on record for UN observations, according to a report released Tuesday by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“The WMO report confirms that 2023 was the warmest year on record,” the press release reads.
UN Secretary General António Guterres, commenting on the report, pointed out that “some indicators are not just the highest, they are too high, climate change is happening at an ever faster rate.”
He said the consequences of global warming are “abrupt, violent and increasing with deadly force.”
According to the WMO report, records for carbon dioxide emissions, Earth’s surface temperature, global ocean temperature rise and glacier melting will be broken in 2023.
The WMO added that heatwaves, floods, drought, uncontrolled wildfires and intensifying tropical cyclones are “wreaking misery and havoc”, affecting the lives of millions of people and causing billions of dollars in economic damage.
That said, the UN secretary-general said, “the worst of climate chaos can still be avoided.” To do so, he called for, among other things, accelerating the process of fossil fuel divestment and developing national plans to combat climate change, which will affect the entire economic system of countries and prevent the target of 1.5 degrees Celsius from being exceeded.
