WMO has warned that the earth experienced the hottest decade in history during the 2011-2020 period. The report is revealed during the COP28 conference, held in Dubai, and states that this is a huge increase due to growing levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the air. Evidently, the effect is reflected in records of high temperatures both on land and in oceans that intensify the melting of glaciers and sea-level rise.
The year 2023 is expected to be the warmest in history featuring six months with the highest temperatures ever recorded. This heat is considered one of the warmest El Niño and man-made global warming is caused by mostly fossil fuel pollutants. According to a parallel analysis undertaken by the Global Carbon Project, carbon emissions from fossil fuels will reach an all-time high this year, exceeding that of 2022 by 1.1%.
The report underscores a concerning development: nearly doubled the growth rate of methane, a powerful GHG, over the last ten years. This serves as a warning trend that was emphasized by WMO’s Deputy Secretary-General, Elena Manaenkova, during a news conference.
Despite the overall uptrend of greenhouse gases throughout the decade, the report places special emphasis on methane. Methane, which is a major component in global warming, has been recorded with increasing intensity.
Climate change is global, with increases reported for coal and oil emissions in India and China, while coal use declines in the US and the EU. The emissions associated with natural gas vary by region, growing in the US, China, and India but declining in the EU.
Since the 1990s, each decade has recorded warmer temperatures as compared to the previous one. Action is called for urgently with a WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas underscoring that cutting greenhouse gas emissions must be made a topmost priority to stop climate change from being out of hand. The report also focuses on the significant changes of melting ice sheets and glaciers in the poles and mountains. The results are presented within the COP28 climate summit when heads deal with the future role of the fossil fuels that have led to the climatic challenge. In this regard, the leaders are called upon to cut down on fossil fuel emissions rapidly.
