A climate emergency is underway, according to the United Nations chief, after the latest State of the Global Climate report was issued by the World Meteorological Organization.
“Earth is being pushed beyond its limits while every key climate indicator is flashing red,” stated U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres. “The gap between heat absorbed and released is the highest on record. Our planet is trapping heat faster than it can shed it.”
Guterres noted the effects of the climate crisis are evident in the lives of families dealing with food price hikes due to droughts and storms, workers enduring extreme heat, and communities devastated by floods.
The report emphasizes record-high greenhouse gas concentrations and their widespread impacts, from a series of hottest-ever years to heat accumulation in oceans. It introduces Earth’s energy imbalance as a vital climate indicator, measuring energy exchange between the sun and the Earth.
Typically, incoming and outgoing energy are balanced. However, activities like burning fossil fuels and industrial production have disrupted this, elevating carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide levels to the highest in 800,000 years, resulting in unprecedented heat retention.
“Improved scientific understanding shows the disruption is real and ongoing,” remarked WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo, stating the consequences will last for centuries.
The new metric offers a comprehensive view of the climate response to human emissions by encompassing heat in oceans, atmosphere, land, and melting ice, explained oceanographer Karina von Schuckmann of Mercator Ocean International.
U.S. climate scientist Ko Barrett, WMO deputy secretary-general, added that Earth’s energy imbalance illustrates the interconnection of climate systems and highlights the oceans’ role in absorbing most trapped heat.
Leon Simons, an independent climate analyst, noted that the energy balance indicator focuses on climate change fundamentals: energy in, energy out, altered by greenhouse gases.
This fundamental energy measurement is more significant now due to 20 to 25 years of satellite data designed to study Earth’s energy balance, Simons added.
The WMO report is created with contributions from national meteorological agencies, global research programs, and U.N. partners, utilizing data from satellites, ocean monitoring systems, and weather stations worldwide.
WMO deputy Barrett mentioned that despite past concerns about U.S. climate program cuts, critical data flows for the report remain intact, with restored funding from Congress ensuring continued demand for precise climate information.
Guterres emphasized that fossil fuel dependence is destabilizing the climate and global security. A swift transition to renewable energy could provide climate and energy security.
“Today’s report should come with a warning label,” he said. “Climate chaos is accelerating. The path forward must be guided by science and courage to act.”
Original Story at insideclimatenews.org