Climate change continued brutal advance in 2022, affected communities for billions of dollars on all continents: WMO

Climate change continued its advance in 2022 as droughts, floods, and heatwaves affected communities on every continent and cost many billions of dollars, said the annual report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Antarctic sea ice fell to its lowest level on record, and the melting of some European glaciers was off the charts, Xinhua news agency quoted the report as saying.

For global temperature, the years 2015-2022 were the eight warmest on record. Melting of glaciers and sea level rise, which reached record levels in 2022, will continue for up to thousands of years, said the report.

"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," said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

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 new WMO report is accompanied by a story map, which provides information for policymakers 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.

"We need accelerated climate action with deeper, faster emissions cuts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We also need massively scaled-up investments in adaptation and resilience, particularly for the most vulnerable countries and communities who have done the least to cause the crisis," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

Recommended stories: