The World Meteorological Organization said on Friday that global sea levels hit a new record high last year as they continue to rise at more than double the pace they did in the first decade of measurements in 1993-2002, warning that the trend would continue for millennia.
In its major report detailing the havoc of climate change, the WMO said extreme glacier melt and record ocean heat levels caused water to expand, thereby contributing to an average rise in sea levels of 4.62mm a year between 2013-2022. That is about double the pace of the first decade on record, 1993-2002, leading to a total increase of over 10 cm since the early 1990s.
WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas told a press conference that the world has already lost this “melting of glaciers game” because high levels of greenhouse gases have already been emitted that waters would continue to rise for “thousands of years”.
Released a day ahead of Earth Day, the annual report also showed that sea ice in Antarctica receded to record lows last June and July when oceans were the warmest on record, and around 58% of their surfaces experienced a marine heatwave.
Some 15,000 people died during Europe’s heatwaves last year, it stated.
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Taalas said such extreme weather patterns would continue into the 2060s even as nations continue to double up their efforts to reduce emissions. He was however optimistic that there was still a chance to turn around things afterwards.
“The good news would be that we would be able to phase out this negative trend and even reach the 1.5 degrees (Celsius)limit,” he said, noting more ambitious climate plans from G7 countries that could enable the world to meet the 2015 Paris temperature target.
Despite the cooling impact of a three-year La Niña climatic event, the WMO said 2022 ranked as the fifth or sixth warmest year on record with the mean global temperature 1.15 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial average.
Climate scientists have warned that the world could breach a new average temperature record in 2023 or 2024, fuelled by climate change and the anticipated return of warming El Niño conditions.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
