The decade that is ending will probably be the warmest in history, meteorologists say
It is almost certain that the last decade will be the warmest in recorded history. This is claimed in the annual report on climate by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), which was published at the UN climate conference in Madrid. The report is yet more proof of the fact that global temperatures are increasing.
“Preliminary data shows that 2015-2019 and 2010-2019 will definitely be the warmest five and ten years, respectively, in recorded history,” the World Meteorological Organisation wrote. It is also claimed that the trend that started in the 1980s is continuing, and every subsequent decade is warmer than the one that preceded it.
Temperature data for this year will only be available in several months, but the WMO expects that 2019 will be the second or third warmest year in measured history.
“Extreme heat waves and floods that occurred once every hundred years are now more and more regular,” WMO general secretary Petteri Taalas wrote in the announcement related to the report. Vast fires devastated Alaska, Siberia, Greenland and Canada this year.
Natural catastrophes drove millions of people from their homes, the WMO stated. According to the organisation, climate changes are the main reason that the number of people suffering from famine has increased again after it had been dropping for decades.
The WMO report not only points out temperature increases. It also warns that ocean water is currently 26 percent more acidic than it was at the beginning of the industrial era. This results in the destruction of marine ecosystems.
Climate changes have a negative impact on human health, too. This was claimed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) at the UN climate conference that was launched in Madrid on Monday. Due to climate changes, it claimed, more and more people are suffering from heat stress, extreme oscillations in the weather, and illnesses transmitted by mosquitoes.
“The WHO considers climate changes perhaps the most severe health risk of the 21st century,” Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, a WHO expert, said. In his opinion, it is necessary to decrease carbon dioxide emissions, otherwise the destruction of food stocks, drinking water and air, i.e. “All that we need to keep the population in good health” will continue. According to Campbell-Lendrum, the WHO estimates that more than seven million people die due to polluted air every year. Decreasing greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate changes would bring about a decrease in air pollution that impacts human health, the WHO added.
“The data has shown how interconnected the health of people and the planet that we call ours are. Governments of countries should do much more to find a solution to these related problems,” Dalibor Dostal, director of European Wildlife conservation organisation said.
