Laura Laplaud with AFP
5:26 p.m., October 31, 2021, modified at
5:38 p.m., October 31, 2021
As COP26 opens today in Glasgow, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announces in a statement on Sunday that the seven years from 2015 to 2021 will likely be the hottest on record, describing a global climate entering “ground” unknown”. This annual report on the state of the climate “reveals that our planet is changing before our eyes,” commented UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
COP26 must “mark a decisive turning point”
“From the depths of the ocean to the peaks of the mountains, under the inexorable effect of melting glaciers and extreme weather phenomena, all over the planet, ecosystems and populations of the planet are under strain,” said Antonio Guterres.
The climate conference, COP26, which opened on Sunday in Glasgow, Scotland, must “mark a decisive turning point for humanity as well as for the planet,” he added in a statement. States will have until November 12 to agree on the best way to respect the Paris agreement signed in 2015. France and almost all the countries of the world recognized by the UN pledged to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees by 2100.
Over the first nine months of 2021, the average temperature has gained around + 1.09 ° C compared to the pre-industrial era. Due to the impact of a climatic phenomenon, La Niña, originating from a thermal anomaly of the equatorial surface waters of the central Pacific Ocean, which lowered temperatures at the start of the year.
2021 will not break any records, but it is “likely” that it still ranks 5th to 7th place and therefore the past seven years will once again be the hottest on record. The hottest remaining in 2016.
“Extreme phenomena are no longer exceptional”
The rise in average temperature over the last 20 years (2002-2021), for the first time, exceeds the symbolic threshold of + 1 ° C. And with + 1 ° C, the litany of disasters is already underway, as the WMO report shows. “There is nothing exceptional about extreme phenomena,” underlines its president Petteri Taalas.
In 2021 alone, the world experienced exceptional heatwaves in North America and southern Europe, devastating fires in Canada and Siberia, a spectacular cold spell in the central United States, extreme precipitation in China. and in Western Europe, a drought causing famine in Madagascar.
Adaptation to the impacts of climate change necessary
“The disasters continue to impose heavy losses, in human lives and in capital, reversing the development gains made by the countries”, worries the report, noting nevertheless a better preparation for these disasters.
Adapting to the impacts of climate change is one of the issues at the heart of the discussions at COP26. This is necessary in particular in the face of rising ocean levels, which are accelerating under the effect of melting ice. The rate of this rise reached 4.4mm per year between 2013 and 2021, with a “record” in 2021.
As an entertainment author with over 7 years of experience, I bring a diverse background to my writing. I have a proven track record in the journalism industry. My expertise extends beyond writing, as I have experience producing video content for websites and social media platforms, offering a well-rounded perspective on the entertainment world
