We have faced several dramatic weather disasters which claimed far too many lives and livelihoods in 2022. From extreme floods to heat and drought, weather and climate disasters affected millions and cost billions, indicating that climate change has intensified this year, and in 2023, the world would need greater preparedness to face it. The Provisional State of the Global Climate in 2022, the full and final report of which would come out in March 2023, has said that the world has been on the warmest track for the last eight years despite the persistence of a cooling La Niña, now in its third year. This condition is fuelled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat in the atmosphere. The year topped many national heat records throughout the world.
Concentration of the three main greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – reached record highs in 2021, with an annual increase in methane concentration being the highest on record. Real time data from specific locations show levels of the three gases continued to increase in 2022.
Though the global temperature figures would be released in mid-January 2023, the provisional report has indicated that the cooling impact will be short-lived and not reverse the long-term warming trend caused by record levels of heat trapping greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.
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2022 would not be the warmest year on record, but will be fifth or sixth warmest, and will be the tenth successive year that temperatures have reached at least 1°C above pre-industrial levels – likely to breach the 1.5°C limit of the Paris Agreement of 2015. The year topped many national heat records throughout the world.
Rains have also broken records. The Indian Monsoon onset was earlier and withdrawal later than normal this year. The majority of the Indian subcontinent received high rainfall which flooded several parts of the region. There was significant flooding in India at various stages during the monsoon, particularly in the north-east in June, with over 700 deaths reported from flooding and landslides, and a further 900 from lightning. Floods also triggered 6,63,000 displacements in the Indian state of Assam. Sea levels, which have doubled since 1993; ocean heat content; and acidification are also at recorded highs. The past two and half years alone account for 10 percent of overall sea level rise. It has risen by nearly 10 mm since January 2020. Ocean heat was at record levels in 2021 (the latest year assessed), with the warming rate particularly high in the past 20 years.
Taken together, these changes to the global climate have undermined the global ability to achieve sustainable development, directly impacting SDG – 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14 and 15. However, the picture is far from complete. Significant gaps still exist for many key climate parameters, including ocean acidification (SDG 14) and methane emission (SDG 13). Keeping these in mind, early warnings, increasing investment in the basic global observing system and building resilience to extreme weather and climate should be a priority in 2023, that WMO has set for itself, and the government needs to set for themselves. There is a clear need to enhance preparedness for extreme weather events.
