International Courant
The World Meteorological Group says floods and storms are the primary reason behind casualties and financial losses as the results of warmth waves grow to be extra extreme.
Asia was the area most affected globally by local weather change, climate and water-related hazards final yr, the United Nations climate company mentioned.
In a report printed on Tuesday, the World Meteorological Group (WMO) mentioned floods and storms would be the primary reason behind casualties and financial injury in 2023, whereas the results of warmth waves will grow to be extra extreme.
It confirmed that Asia is warming quicker than the worldwide common, with the temperature improve in 2023 averaging virtually 2 levels Celsius (3.6 levels Fahrenheit) above the 1961-1990 common.
“Many international locations within the area skilled their hottest yr on report in 2023, together with a barrage of utmost situations, from droughts and heatwaves to floods and storms,” WMO chief Celeste Saulo mentioned in an announcement.
She added that local weather change was “exacerbating the frequency and severity of such occasions” and referred to as the report’s conclusions “sobering.”
The company mentioned 79 disasters associated to water-related climate hazards had been reported in Asia final yr. Of that, about 80 p.c consisted of floods and storms, which precipitated greater than 2,000 deaths and immediately affected 9 million individuals.
The State of the Local weather in Asia 2023 report additionally discovered that floods had been the main reason behind demise “by a big margin” amongst reported occasions in 2023.
Hong Kong recorded 158.1 mm (6.2 in) of rainfall in a single hour on September 7 – the very best since information started in 1884 – as a result of a hurricane.
The report additionally highlighted that almost all high-mountain glaciers in Asia had misplaced important mass as a result of record-breaking excessive temperatures and dry situations.
Precipitation was under regular within the Himalayas and Hindu Kush mountain ranges in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2023, whereas southwest China suffered from drought, with below-normal rainfall ranges in virtually each month of the yr.
Significantly excessive common temperatures had been recorded from western Siberia to Central Asia, and from jap China to Japan, the report mentioned, with Japan experiencing its hottest summer time on report.
‘Urgency’ for motion
The report comes as a lot of Asian international locations have been hit by extreme flooding in current weeks.
Greater than 100,000 individuals had been evacuated in southern China on Tuesday as a result of heavy rain and flooding, killing at the very least 4 individuals. In the meantime, authorities in Afghanistan and Pakistan declared a state of emergency in some areas final week after heavy rains and flash floods killed at the very least 100 individuals.
The WMO mentioned there may be an pressing want for nationwide climate providers throughout Asia to enhance tailor-made data for officers working to scale back catastrophe dangers.
“It’s crucial that our actions and methods mirror the urgency of the occasions,” mentioned Saulo.
“Lowering greenhouse fuel emissions and adapting to the altering local weather is not only an possibility, however a basic necessity.”
Asia is hardest hit by local weather change as a result of excessive climate: WMO | Local weather information
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