A report by the World Meteorological Organization presents an ominous picture of what lies ahead for planet Earth if urgent action is not taken to stop what appears to be an inevitable march toward climate change.
According to the WMO's State of Global Climate report, 2023 was the hottest year on record, "with the global average near-surface temperature at 1.45 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial baseline."
"Never have we been so close — albeit on a temporary basis at the moment — to the 1.5 degrees Celsius lower limit of the Paris Agreement on climate change," WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said on Tuesday.
Global warming is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Scientists say that is happening at a faster rate than ever before.
The WMO reports that carbon dioxide levels are 50% higher now than the preindustrial era, "trapping heat in the atmosphere."
Because of the long lifetime of CO2, it says, "temperatures will continue to rise for many years to come."
"This annual report shows that the climate crisis is the defining challenge that humanity faces," Saulo said. "It is closely intertwined with an inequality crisis — as witnessed by growing food insecurity and population displacement, and biodiversity loss.
"It is an existential threat to vulnerable populations everywhere," she said, noting that last year smashed several records — none of them good.
"Climate change is about much more than temperatures," she said. "What we witnessed in 2023, especially with the unprecedented ocean warmth, glacier retreat and Antarctic sea ice loss, is cause for particular concern."
"As Secretary-General of the World Meteorological Organization, I am now sounding the red alert about the state of the climate," she said.
Saulo's warning was echoed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who told journalists in Geneva by video link from New York that the Earth was issuing a "distress call."
"Fossil fuel pollution is sending climate chaos off the charts. … Last year saw record heat, record sea levels, and record ocean surface temperatures. Glaciers likely lost more ice than ever before.
"Some records are not just chart-topping, they are chartbusting. And changes are speeding up," he said.
Warmest decade on record
Not only did 2023 smash the all-time yearly heat record, 2023 also marked the end of the warmest decade on record.
"This demonstrates the acceleration and the continuation of the warming," said Omar Baddour, WMO chief of climate monitoring. "As the global climate warms, the ocean also warms, and last year, we also had the melting of the ice sheets. All this contributes to sea-level rise, which has more than doubled" since satellite records began in 1993.
The WMO report cites several key indicators as evidence that climate change is happening. Data analysis shows that ocean heat content reached its highest level in 2023, which means that warming is expected to continue — a change that is irreversible on scales of hundreds to thousands of years.
The report says Antarctic sea-ice extent "reached an absolute record low for the satellite era in February 2023" and Arctic sea-ice extent "remained well below normal."
Preliminary data indicate that glaciers suffered the largest loss of ice on record last year. "These are the water towers of the world," said WMO chief Saulo. "They are our freshwater reservoirs."
The most visible evidence of climate change is the extreme weather events occurring around the world, including major floods, tropical cyclones, extreme heat and drought, and associated wildfires.
The authors of the report say those events have "caused misery and mayhem, upending everyday life for millions and inflicting many billions of dollars in economic losses."
They note that weather hazards continued to trigger displacement in 2023, "showing how climate shocks undermine resilience and create new protection risks among the most vulnerable populations."
Saulo said the report confirms what scientists have known about climate change for more than five decades "and yet we missed an entire generation of opportunity."
"It is imperative that our actions today are based on the welfare of future generations rather than short-term economic interests."
'A glimmer of hope'
Despite the findings, "there is a glimmer of hope" that action needed to stem climate change is happening, said Saulo.
"Renewable energy is surging. In 2023, clean capacity has increased by almost 50% over 2022," she said. "Weather and climate services will be vital to power the transition to solar, wind and hydropower."
The WMO chief said that early warnings against tropical cyclones saved countless lives last year and yet fewer than half of all countries have proper early warning services.
"This means people are on their own and unprotected," she said. "We want to change that. Early warnings work, but they must work for everyone."
She said the WMO is also joining with partners and multilateral development banks to increase the flow of climate financing for mitigation and adaptation.
"Funding is on the increase but needs to be accelerated," she said. "The cost of climate action may seem high, but the cost of climate inaction is much higher."
