stluciatimes, caribbean, caribbeannews, stlucia, saintlucia, stlucianews, saintlucianews, stluciatimesnews, saintluciatimes, stlucianewsonline, saintlucianewsonline, st lucia news online, stlucia news online, loop news, loopnewsbarbados

World Meteorological Organization Urges Greater Climate Action Amid Extreme Weather

Scorching temperatures are engulfing large parts of the Northern hemisphere, while devastating floods triggered by relentless rainfall have disrupted lives and livelihoods, underscoring the urgent need for more climate action, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Friday.

According to the UN weather agency, June witnessed the warmest global average temperature on record, and heatwaves have persisted into early July. Torrential rains and floods have resulted in dozens of fatalities and affected millions in the United States, Japan, China and India.

‘New normal’

“The extreme weather – an increasingly frequent occurrence in our warming climate – is having a major impact on human health, ecosystems, economies, agriculture, energy and water supplies,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.

“We have to step up efforts to help society adapt to what is unfortunately becoming the new normal,” he added.

Deadly natural hazard

Heatwaves, amongst the deadliest natural hazards, kill thousands of people each year.

Elevated temperatures raise the risk of forest fires, as seen recently in Canada, which lost over nine million hectares of forests in 2023 till date, far surpassing the 10-year average of about 800,000 hectares.

The resulting pollution and haze spread across much of the northeastern United States, impacting the health of millions.

Above-normal temperatures, with the mercury rising more than five degrees Celsius (41 degrees Fahrenheit) above the long-term average, are forecast in the Mediterranean region over the next two weeks, as well as in many places in North Africa, the Middle East and Türkiye.

A widespread heatwave is intensifying in the southern United States, with high temperatures likely in numerous places, according to the US National Weather Service, which says a few locations could even register all-time temperature records.

Raining like never before

Heavy rains and flooding have caused severe damage and loss of life in several parts of the world in recent days.

WMO said the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA) has issued heavy rain emergency warnings for the Fukuoka and Oita prefectures, on Kyushu, the country’s third largest island, together with a new daily rainfall record two days ago.

“It’s raining like never before,” JMA said.

Meanwhile, the northeastern US, including New York state and New England has seen deadly torrential rains. New York issued a flash flood emergency and more than four million people were under floods alerts on 11 July.

Elsewhere, floods in northwest China killed a reported 15 people, and northern India, roads and bridges collapsed and houses were swept away as rivers overflowed during heavy monsoonal rainfall and flooding, claiming dozens of lives.

Low-income countries at higher risk

The UN agency also highlighted that while developed countries have increased level of preparedness, such as warnings, and management of floods, low-income countries remain vulnerable.

“As the planet warms, the expectation is that we will see more and more intense, more frequent, more severe rainfall events, leading also to more severe flooding,” said Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO Director of hydrology, water and cryosphere.

“Developed countries like Japan are extremely alert, and they’re also very well prepared when it comes to flood management measures. But many low-income countries have no warnings in place, hardly any flood defense structures and no integrated flood management. WMO is committed to improving the situation,” he said.

SOURCE: UN News

Any third-party or user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries published on the St. Lucia Times website (https://stluciatimes.com) in no way convey the thoughts, sentiments or intents of St. Lucia Times, the author of any said article or post, the website, or the business. St. Lucia Times is not responsible or liable for, and does not endorse, any comments or replies posted by users and third parties, and especially the content therein and whether it is accurate. St. Lucia Times reserves the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate content posted by third parties on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times (this includes the said user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries) at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you, or any user. For example, we may remove a comment or reply if we believe it violates any part of the St. Lucia Criminal Code, particularly section 313 which pertains to the offence of Libel. Except as required by law, we have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times. All third-parties and users agree that this is a public forum, and we do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website. Any posts made and information disclosed by you is at your own risk.

4 COMMENTS

  1. Please tell us how long meteorologists have been keeping accurate weather records. Then tell us how old the planet is. Then tell us how you can possibly make these claims using 40 years of accurate records for a planet 4,540,000,000 years old.

  2. The issue is no matter how many times scientists mention this pending catastrophe, no one will take sufficient action to avert this disaster. It’s all too late now cause scientists have been mentioning this global warming since the 80s and no country or government took heed….now it’s too late….

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

TRENDING

Subscribe to our St. Lucia Times Newsletter

Get our headlines emailed to you every day.

Subscribe to our St. Lucia Times Newsletter

Get our headlines emailed to you every day.

Share via
Send this to a friend