The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) annual report for 2022 reveals that record levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases have increased the frequency of droughts, floods, and heatwaves globally. Heatwaves were responsible for at least 15,700 deaths in Europe in 2022.
Real-time statistics from specific places, according to the WMO, a UN organization, reveal that levels of the three greenhouse gases – carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide – continued to rise in 2022.
Every continent and country, including India, was afflicted by droughts, floods, and heat waves, which cost many billions of dollars, according to the research. The melting of some European glaciers was allegedly out of this world, while Antarctic sea ice shrank to its smallest amount ever.
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The report said the monsoon onset in India was earlier and the withdrawal later than normal in 2022. The pre-monsoon period was also exceptionally hot in India and neighboring Pakistan.
The extreme heat reduced grain yields and led to a number of forest fires, particularly in the hill state of Uttarakhand, the report said.
There was also significant flooding in India at various stages during the monsoon season, particularly in the northeast in June 2022, with over 700 deaths reported during the season from flooding and landslides, and a further 900 from lightning.
Story adapted from NDTV
