The World Meteorological Organisation, WMO, has highlighted that the relentless advance of climate change brought more drought, flooding and heatwaves to communities in 2022, compounding threats to people's lives and livelihoods.
The WMO, in its annual report, titled, "The State of the Global Climate 2022," published weekend, stated that from mountain peaks to ocean depths, climate change continued its advance in 2022.
Droughts, floods and heatwaves affected communities on every continent and cost many billions of dollars.
Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest extent on record and the melting of some European glaciers was, literally, off the charts.
The report shows the planetary scale changes on land, in the ocean and in the atmosphere caused by record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.
"While greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise and the climate continues to change, populations worldwide continue to be gravely impacted by extreme weather and climate events.
"For example, in 2022, continuous drought in East Africa, record-breaking rainfall in Pakistan and record-breaking heatwaves in China and Europe affected tens of millions, drove food insecurity, boosted mass migration, and cost billions of dollars in loss and damage," The WMO Secretary-General, Prof. Petteri Taalas, said.
Taalas, however, said that collaboration amongst the United Nations agencies had proven to be very effective in addressing humanitarian impacts induced by extreme weather and climate events, especially in reducing associated mortality and economic losses.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
"The UN Early Warnings for All Initiative aims to fill the existing capacity gap to ensure that every person on earth is covered by early warning services. At the moment, about 100 countries do not have adequate weather services in place.
"Achieving this ambitious task requires improvement of observation networks, investments in early warning, hydrological and climate service capacities," he said.
The new WMO report is accompanied by a story map, which provides information for policy makers on how the climate change indicators are playing out, and which also shows how improved technology makes the transition to renewable energy cheaper and more accessible than ever.
In addition to climate indicators, the report focuses on impacts. Rising undernourishment has been exacerbated by the compounded effects of hydrometeorological hazards and COVID-19, as well as of protracted conflicts and violence.
Throughout the year, hazardous climate and weather-related events drove new population displacement and worsened conditions for many of the 95 million people already living in displacement at the beginning of the year, according to the report.
The UN partners include the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the UNESCO, International Organisation for Migration, the United Nations Environment Programme, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and the World Food Programme.
